The Price of Living
by PrussianKnight9
Summary: It was a perfectly harmless mission, or so Deidara had thought. When a simple investigation mission turns into something much more… human, the artistic duo must solve the confounding puzzle in order to fetch back Sasori's puppet body. AU set in Naruto universe, rated T for swearing. Naruto characters belong to their respectful owner, Kishimoto Masashi.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I honestly don't know what Deidara's sleeping habits are, so I just guessed for the sake of this story. Enjoy!**

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Despite his determination to stay in style, mornings just weren't his thing. That's why Deidara's otherwise proud, and even somewhat frightening reputation would always get blown apart to smithereens like his explosions, every time a mission was announced at dawn. Regardless of his love for battle, he'd much rather be snuggled back at base with his pillow stuffed between his legs and drooling on his inconceivably soft blankets. Which was the exact action he was engaging in as of current time.

Apparently, Sasori of the Red Sand, Deidara's cranky, not-so-friendly partner always found this to be absolutely despicable. At times like these, he regarded the blonde as the very epitome of laziness. Thanks to the reprimands of the redhead, Deidara had actually tried not to sleep in that much. He'd done everything from going to bed earlier and turning his alarm clock on to full blast, but it seemed as if fate just couldn't let Deidara function without a nice, juicy amount of rest. What's so bad about it, Deidara had argued. His performance is superb afterwards, and that's what mattered, wasn't it? Unfortunately Sasori had just called him a sloth and walked away. Deidara chased after him, yelling that he would never understand because he was a _puppet, _and that he had no idea how hard it was to force yourself to get up in the mornings. Exhausted and angry, Deidara had returned to his room and flopped onto his bed, and started snoring away once more.

So of course it was no surprise when literally a day later, he was jerked out of his sweet dreams yet again, via Sasori throwing coat hangers at his face.

"Ow! What the hell, un!" Deidara yelped as something hard smacked him directly on the forehead. He cracked open an eye and looked around for the source of open fire. "What's happening?"

"Me, that's what's happening," Sasori said from his side of the room. He raised another coat hanger, poised to attack. "Get up now."

Deidara sighed and turned around, his back facing the redhead. "Shove off, un. I'm still sleepy. Come back in an hour and I'll think about— _arrrgh!" _The clay artist shot up immediately, howling with pain, as he felt someone land a very hard kick on his arse. He whipped around to send a death glare at an annoyed puppet master, who was now standing only a foot away from his bed. Yes, so he'd had his fair share of Sasori-beatings in the past, but _this_ was playing dirty; he wasn't even prepared. As the pain ebbed away, his found his eyelids involuntarily starting to droop as he began to doze off in his current position.

Except, that wasn't going to happen. The last coat hanger had finally left the homely cavern of Sasori's fist and hit Deidara squarely in the eye. Yelling with agony, the blonde doubled over, curses streaming out of his mouth like a fountain. He rolled away as far as he could from the dangerous man, which wasn't much since his back hit the wall the bed was pushed up against. He raised his pillow as a makeshift wall of defence, but the redhead hadn't yet made another move to maim the clay artist, which was definitely a plus. Deidara had always asked himself why he was the victim in this abusive partnership, and secretly wondered if Sasori enjoyed watching him suffer. As of now, however, he was too disoriented to retaliate.

"We have a mission," Sasori said flatly, still not moving from his position. "Leader wants us to get ready within the next ten minutes."

"What time is it, un?" Deidara massaged his right eye; he was definitely going to have a bruise there.

"It's almost four." Sasori said it as if it were the most simplest thing in the entire universe.

"Four?" repeated Deidara. "Four in the _morning? _Come on, Danna, you know I need to sleep more than that, un!"

"You mean you _want_ to sleep more than that. It's not a necessity," Sasori said nonchalantly, opening his desk drawer and rummaging through its contents. "Hurry up, you lazy brat. I don't like to keep people waiting."

"For you, it isn't, un." Deidara groaned, smacking his mouth distastefully. He ran his fingers through hair and raked them down his scalp, scratching in a disfigured band around his neck. In the corner of his vision, he could see Sasori watching with a disgusted expression that matched his current mood flawlessly. Deidara lingered on his bed for a few more seconds, before giving up and heaving himself out towards the bathroom door. He surveyed the sink lined with his toiletries with irritation, before snatching up his toothbrush. He nearly covered half his hand in toothpaste before finally getting some on the bristles, and he shoved it into his mouth and started brushing his teeth with ferocity similar to as if he was sadistically murdering someone. When he was finished taking out his anger, he grabbed whatever he could and stomped back out and stuffed them all into his bag, along with a few other things he considered _necessary_. And without a glance at Sasori's way, walked right out and headed straight for Pain's office.

"Deidara," came the leader's voice from the usual hologram. "I see you've arrived earlier than—"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, un," Deidara grumbled. "Just give us the damn mission already."

As if he was taken aback at this sudden outburst, Pain did not speak for a minute. Just then, the door opened and Sasori entered the office. Quickly composing himself and taking this as a cue, the hologram continued with his speech. "I need you two to investigate along the borders of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain. According to one of my spies, there's been a sighting of Orochimaru and a handful of other men that we have yet to indentify. I want to know if he's still lingering and why. If you do not see him, search the vicinities. Find out what he's up to, but do not engage in battle unless necessary."

"Understood." Sasori shot Deidara a glance, and the blonde sighed and complied.

"Understood, un."

"Good. Leave immediately."

~*o*~

"God damn it, un!" yelled Deidara as soon as they were outside. He kicked at an innocent, nearby tree that deemed worthy enough to Deidara of receiving his wrath. "I just got back from a week-long mission, and now this bull-shit! Why can't Hidan and Kakuzu do it or something, un? Those bastards have been sitting on their asses for over a week without _doing anything!"_

"Kakuzu and Hidan just returned from a bounty hunt," Sasori told him as they headed further out into the forest. "You were too busy being lazy to notice it."

"Oh, ha-_ha,_ Danna," Deidara said irritably, reaching into his clay pouch. "I've had absolutely no time to work on my newest bombs these past few months, un. Every time I think we're finished something, Leader gives us something else to do. It's as if he doesn't want me to improve, or something, un."

"Or maybe you could get up earlier so you have more time," Sasori said dryly. "Shut up and do your thing, brat."

Deidara rolled his eyes and molded his clay bird; he and Sasori climbed on its back and it took off into the still dark sky, headed towards their destination. The clay bomber wished he could just discreetly doze off just until they reached the border. Although he couldn't guarantee the effectiveness of this fantasy, as Sasori was evidentially keeping a close eye on him, he still longed to be back in his bed with all his comfortable belongings. Unfortunately, Sasori had truly impeccable instincts, or perhaps it was coincidence, but Deidara doubted it was. The redhead had decided to engage him in a top notch conversation on how they were going to perform this investigation including every nano-sized detail. Disgruntled, the blonde nodded, 'hmm'ing and 'ahh'ing at all the necessary parts, when in reality he couldn't care less. And so, the long ride began, with Sasori rattling on about plans and strategies that never reached the blonde's ears.

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**Like? Love? Hate? Please tell me what you think; your reviews will be greatly appreciated! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who have actually read and liked this story. Nothing else would make me happier :) Secondly, this will not be a yaoi fanfic. Sorry to all who wanted it to be D: And lastly, I really suck at writing fighting scenes, so this chapter might seem a little rushed, and it probably is. I hope it doesn't affect the overall mood of the story, though. Enjoy!**

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As the sun climbed higher and higher into the sky, Deidara's mood plummeted lower and lower. The blinding light stabbed his eye like a vicious knife and chased all his sleepiness away, leaving him exhausted and grumpy. Two hours prior to his meltdown, Sasori had given him an extensive lecture on how to be not lazy, or as Sasori called it, being punctual. Deidara would've rather punctured a hole through the redhead's face, though, and the lesson had come to an end with Deidara's brain having decided to leave for a holiday. Currently, he was trying to wake his legs up from the 'criss-cross apple sauce' position Sasori forced him to sit in, wincing as the pins and needles attacked his cramped limbs.

"Stop being such a baby." Sasori's drawling voice drifted up from behind. "Act your age."

Deidara whipped around to give the redhead a scathing glare. "Stop acting like you know everything, Danna! You have no idea what it's like, un!"

"I wasn't born a puppet, you know," Sasori said disapprovingly. "I knew what it's like to feel."

"Yeah, and that was like, five hundred years ago, un," seethed Deidara. "Stop lying."

Sasori snorted, which was quite unlike his usual composed self. "It's not like it matters now, does it?"

Muttering explicit words that would've made little children cry, Deidara turned back to the front, and tried to focus on their current task. The prospect of having to actually search for the creepy snake man was nauseating in itself, but the flight to the actual border seemed to drag out longer than usual. When he tried to make them go faster, Sasori had snapped at him telling him to save his chakra. Deidara wanted to throttle the redhead.

After what felt like a quarter million light years later, he could finally see where the forest cut off in an almost unnaturally straight line that marked the border placed between the Land of River and the Land of Rain. Quite frankly, Deidara wanted to jump off his clay bird and end it there and now, but even he would have to admit that would be a pretty pathetic way of dying; plus Sasori would kill him for it. Instead, he steered the bird closer to the treetops and lazily glided along the foliage, keeping an eye out for any hostile movement. For a minute, he let his gaze stray over to Sasori, who was, to Deidara's indignation, not even peering over the edge to help him look for the snake bastard. With his chin cupped in his hand, the brown eyes were flitting up towards the sky as if it were the most interesting thing he had ever seen in his cursed puppet life. With his blood simmering in his ears, Deidara mechanically turned around so that he was facing away from the disdainful redhead and continued to search, steam virtually rising from his head.

~*o*~

"There's nothing here, un," Deidara finally concluded after another dreadful hour of mindlessly looping around the border. "We should go back and—"

"Remember what Leader said?" Sasori cut in right away. "_Search the vicinities. _We need to look more."

"You mean _I _have to look more, un!" Deidara shot back. "You've been doing nothing but sitting around like you're paralyzed by your own poison or something!"

"Are you retarded?" Sasori snapped. "I've been putting in much more effort than you have been, you lazy brat. You're not even taking this mission seriously. Don't you realize that Orochimaru is a potential threat to our organization?"

"Of course he is, all thanks to Itachi, un," spat Deidara, voice filled with venom. "If it wasn't for him we'd be spreading our picnic blankets out on a field of daffodils without a single ant to disturb us."

"Now you're bringing Itachi into this?" Sasori said disbelievingly. "Look, brat, you and your stubborn five-year old antics won't work on me. Either turn this bird around and start searching the vicinities, or you might as well just—"

Suddenly, Sasori's sentence was cut off by a single 'thunk' of metal, and both heads turned just in time to see a large shuriken cutting clean though the left wing of the white bird. The large hunk of clay was ripped away from the main body, leaving the bird with only one wing. Taken by surprise, both Akatsuki members were unable to react before their mount lost its balance and toppled over, dropping straight for the trees at a dangerous speed. Deidara let out a yell as he plunged straight through the thick canopy of leaves, sharp branches scraping at his body before he landed hard on his back on the grass, the wind getting knocked out of him. He lay stunned for a full second before the pain finally hit him and he groaned, clenching his jaw as sharp spikes of agony shot through his spine. He heard a clattering noise somewhere ahead and guessed that it was his partner. Dragging himself up, he was amazed that his bones were still miraculously intact, but he was almost sure that there was now a sizeable dent in his skull and had no wish whatsoever to confirm the fact at the current moment.

The sound of a hissing noise drained all pain and confusion away from the blonde. His current first priority was getting prepared, but when he reached for his clay pouch secured to his waist, he had no choice but to freeze his movements when a dark figure stepped out into view.

Standing in all his snake-like glory, was Orochimaru. His yellow, predator-like eyes glinted maliciously at him, his pale skin almost transparent in the afternoon sun. His raven black hair stood out in deep contrast to his face, and a knowing smirk was playing on his lips. This annoyed Deidara even further.

"Hello, boy," Orochimaru said, his voice just as snake-like as his appearance. "I suppose you are the one they collected to replace me as Sasori's partner, eh? You're just a kid… Sasori truly deserves better."

"I don't suppose you've heard about what I'm actually capable of, un," Deidara said, irritation laced into his voice. "You wouldn't be talking like that if you did."

Orochimaru laughed; it was a terrible sound. "Do you really think you'd be able to beat me?"

"Enough of this." Deidara turned to see that Sasori had appeared as well; his hair was slightly disheveled but otherwise he looked unharmed. "We want to know why you've come back."

"Come back?" repeated Orochimaru, smiling. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just here to gather more data for my newest researches. I've never even thought of paying you a visit."

"We all know you're still going after Itachi Uchiha," Sasori said, coming to stand next to Deidara. "How do we know you're not just trying to have another go at it again?"

"Ahh, Sasori my dear friend, always so suspicious," hissed Orochimaru, his smirk growing. "I no longer seek Itachi's body. I have found myself a younger and much better one. And this research is to assure that it stays that way forever." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a regular-sized glass vial filled with a dark, blue liquid. "It is not yet complete, but I am almost there. You wouldn't possibly be opposed to a scientist extending his studies towards perfection?"

"Scientist my ass, un," snarled Deidara, already fed up with the creepy bastard who seemed to know nothing except how to rant. "Get out of the Land of Rivers or we'll have to kill you."

"Deidara," Sasori warned. "Don't take this guy lightly."

"Why? He's all just big talk to me," Deidara said, discreetly beginning to mold his clay. "I'll show him who's the boss here, un."

Orochimaru just looked at him, before raising his voice and calling out, "Now, Kabuto!"

Hidden from just around the giant oaks behind Orochimaru, emerged another man with lightning speed, his hands ablaze with chakra. However, Deidara was already prepared. He easily dodged the newcomer with a simple sidestep and hurled the freshly formed clay spiders towards Orochimaru. Large, ferocious snakes slithered out from the man's sleeve and swallowed the white sculptures and exploded into a bloody mess, however leaving the real target unharmed. Deidara was already finished making a larger clay bird for himself and he jumped on it and immediately gained altitude; he circled around their heads, keeping his eyes focused on Orochimaru himself. They had no choice but to engage in battle, and it wasn't something he would've liked to announce to the entire world about, not this time. He growled in agitation, climbing higher into the sky while his hands munched on another lump of clay.

The fact that Orochimaru hadn't yet made a single move to attack grated on Deidara's nerves. _What a show off, _he grumbled to himself, his miniature clay birds now completed. He steered his ride over to the trees adjacent to his target and carefully tossed the birds down, and maneuvered them through the leaves to secretly reach his opponent. When they were no more than three feet away, he gave them the signal and the bombs went off with a loud 'bang'. Thick smoke covered the area within a twenty foot radius. Deidara grinned, confident that they would've done the job for sure.

To his utmost disgust, he found Orochimaru still standing in his exact position once the smoke cleared, three great white snakes shielding him from the explosion. Without warning, one of the serpents rapidly extended out from the snake-shield and coiled itself around Deidara's ankle, and yanked hard. The blonde whipped out a kunai knife and slashed through the scaly flesh, dismembering the snake, and able to land properly on both feet just in time. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, and this time sent out yet even _more _snakes in Deidara's direction. Effecively dodging the slithering creatures, he dug his hands into his clay pouch once more. After a few seconds, he released a dozen clay spiders into the grass and hid them well into the bushes surrounding the entire clearing, fixing them so that they'd go off when disturbed even slightly. Trap set, he leaped out of the way, and he was about to shower his opponent with a handful of other bombs when he heard a panicked cry of, "No!".

Pausing in his motions, Deidara swiveled his head around to see what had caused the outcry. About ten lunge-steps away, Sasori and not one, but _two _of Orochimaru's men were tangled up into what looked like a strangely disfigured human pretzel. Sasori and Kabuto looked like they were in a sumo wrestling championship match, and a third man with shortcut brown hair that Deidara hadn't noticed up until now was dangling onto Sasori's arm as if his life depended on it. Even from his distance, Deidara could see that the redhead's fist was clenched around something glinting, identical to the bottle that Orochimaru had shown them.

"That vial is absolutely critical to our research!" Kabuto was shouting in Sasori's face. "Release it at once!"

"Not until I find out what it is," Sasori spat back angrily, trying to throw the man off. The third man was clawing at the puppet master's fist trying to pry his fingers open.

"Get away!" Deidara flung a couple of kunai knives in their direction, in which Kabuto deflected with his own. That gave Sasori enough time to rip himself out of their grasp and jump out of their immediate reach.

Kabuto was flushed with rage. "That vial contains years and years of research of mine and Lord Orochimaru's!" he snarled. "You must give it back!"

"Well, I suppose you could try years and years of begging for it, and then maybe I'll consider it," Sasori replied smoothly, peering into the vial. His eyes flickered up to the silver-haired man with glasses. "What happens if I…" He tipped the glass upside down. "Spill it?"

Kabuto's face changed from red to green to white, faster than a set of traffic lights. Even the man with short brown hair was going a brilliant shade of purple. "Don't you dare, Sasori!" yelled Kabuto, looking positively deranged. And without warning, he dived for the puppet master like a panther lunging for its prey. Sasori, by instinct backed up, getting dangerously close to a certain clump of bushes.

Deidara in seeing this very nearly experienced a cardiac arrest, while simultaneously feeling his heart sinking down to the very pits of his stomach like the Titanic going down. "Danna!" he yelled, dashing towards the redhead with his arms outstretched, his eye wide with terror. "Nooo! Stop!"

Too late; Sasori had taken his last step backwards and his feet sank into the bushes like quicksand. At the exact same instant, the bomb implanted in the ground there detonated, setting off the others in a massive chain reaction. Dirt flew in all directions, and everyone was thrown to the ground by the sheer force. Through all the mess and his ears ringing, Deidara saw the vial in Sasori's hand fly out of his grasp and shatter into a million pieces; the dark blue liquid splattered all over Sasori face and most of it went dripping into his mouth and nose. Coughing and choking, Deidara scrambled to his feet only to stop when a throbbing pain pulsated through his skull; he reached up and felt blood trickling from his forehead. Through the smoke, he could see Kabuto and the other man helping Orochimaru up to his feet, the snake bastard also looking quite shocked, to the clay bomber's satisfaction. After exchanging a few quick words, they immediately fled from the scene.

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A couple of seconds flew by after the great explosion. As an aftershock, the clearing was filled with a thick, dead silence, save for the slight ringing that was now fading from his ears. Deidara shook his head, blinking away the stars, utterly confused but still grinning. He assessed the area with watering eyes. Nearby trees were singed and charred, some even fallen from the force of the explosion. Anyone could walk by and recognize that there was a fight here, but right now Deidara felt nothing but pride (and pain) that his art had successfully driven away the creepy Orochimaru. He chuckled at his accomplishment.

However, his mirth rapidly ebbed away when his gaze caught the sight of his partner. To his surprise, Sasori had not yet gotten up to his feet, which was a strange thing for him. Fighting the oncoming dizziness, Deidara staggered over to the motionless heap that was his partner. Kneeling cautiously next to him, he reached out and slowly turned the figure over so that he was facing up, and he was shocked into silence at what he saw next.

Sasori's face was still covered in the strange concoction, but his usually impassive visage was twisted into one similar to… _pain. _His teeth were also covered in the same blue liquid, and they were gritted together as if he had a serious case of lockjaw. His hands came up to pull at his hair, which was matted with dirt and even blood.

"Oi," Deidara started carefully, even almost fearfully, as if he expected the puppet master to explode like a bomb any second. "Sasori no Danna…? Are… are you alright, un?"

He received no answer for a while, and so he watched helplessly as Sasori squirmed around like a mute worm, his eyes clenched together. Finally after a couple minutes later, he cracked them open and glared straight ahead, his eyes unusually bright.

"Make it stop," he rasped, catching the clay bomber off guard. "Damn… Orochimaru!"

"What's going on, un?" Deidara said frantically, shaking his partner. He was still bemused at the turn of recent events, but this was going too far. To his surprise, underneath the Akatsuki cloak the shoulder felt strangely soft, not alike the hard wooden texture of Sasori's body. "Tell me, Danna!"

"It hurts…" groaned Sasori, his fists tightening their grasps on his hair. "No… what is happening to me...?"

"What are you talking abo—" Deidara froze in his tracks, his heart pounding in his ears. To his bewilderment, a small line of blood was seeping through the flaming red mop of hair and down Sasori's cheek. The blonde's knees gave out and he collapsed onto the ground on his arse, face stiffening into a stupefied expression.

"Deidara…" Sasori sounded almost defeated. Something must've clicked into place when he heard his own name, because the clay artist frantically grabbed at his partner's cloak and started fumbling with the buttons. He finally flung open the stubborn clothing, and nearly fainted at the sight.

Instead of the mechanical structure of the puppet master's wooden body, he was met with _real_ skin and toned muscle that shaped Sasori's _real_, organic, _human _chest.

Deidara almost had a heart attack for the second time that day.

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**Like? Love? Hate? Please tell me what you think; your reviews will be greatly appreciated! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry about the wait. I'd like to thank all my few readers/reviewers who like this story again. Once more, I'd like to say that this is not a yaoi fanfiction. Yes, it DOES has some fluffy moments, but that's as close as it will get to any pairing relationship and most of it will be friendship/partnership style. Thank you. Enjoy! :)**

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If a shooting star had descended across the sky at that exact moment, Deidara would've made only one wish, and it would be to just drop unconscious right there on the spot.

Because if he did, then he wouldn't have to be dealing with this current revelation, and perhaps it would even help chase away the pounding migraine he was now experiencing from the raging turmoil that was occurring inside his already fried brain.

Despite all this turbulence, there was one part of his body that had enough sense left in order to function properly, and that was his eye. Even if the blonde seriously doubted the accuracy of his optical powers at the current time, it all seemed too real to be a simple hallucination. Almost every muscle he possessed was still refusing to move, and he sat watching with a petrified look as Sasori was now too weak to thrash around, and lay almost pitifully on the burnt grass with even more blood seeping from cuts on his face and hands.

Sasori had a _real body._

How that worked, Deidara couldn't even begin to fathom without his head exploding all over his lap.

He blinked and stared for the millionth time like a mental person, as if it would help him understand. Unfortunately, the heap in front of him that was his partner was still there, and it was very real; _too _real for Deidara's liking. Seeing as he wouldn't be getting anywhere, the clay artist decided to try and organize his disarrayed mind by sorting a few _things_ out. One minute Sasori was normal (if you could call being a puppet 'normal'), and then suddenly, he was a real human being again. Deidara may not have been an expert in the science field, but he knew that puppets didn't randomly change their artificial components into organic life forms. Questions were going off inside his head like fireworks, and consequently his mind decided to blend itself into a nice, mushy brain smoothie.

Once again, Deidara was left to deal with his _blessed_ partner who had only become the main source of his primary grief.

As he began to calm down somewhat however, his conscience soon bombarded him next with inquiries as to what had to be done now. He noticed that Sasori now looked thoroughly drained from all his energy, and couldn't even raise his head. His breathing came in short, erratic gasps, as if he were drowning in air. For a long time, the clay artist was at a lost as to what to do. He couldn't just leave him here, nor could he really go back to the base like this. He'd have a lot of explaining to do…

But, he thought heavily, it was no use just sitting around like this, either. He had to do something, and fast. As much as he had fantasized about seeing the great Lord Asshole Sasori meeting a slow and painful demise, he realized that it wasn't quite as enjoyable as he had imagined it to be. He took several deep breaths, muttering words of calm to himself. Trying to sit up felt like solving a crossword puzzle, but he somehow managed in the end and inched closer to the redhead ever so cautiously.

Deidara started by clearing his throat to announce his presence. "Danna?" he called out shakily. "You still alive, un...?"

He wasn't graced with an answer. Gnawing on his lower lip, he stretched out his neck in order catch a better glimpse at Sasori's face and frowned. The usually flawless visage was broken, and was now a simple, dirt-caked mess coated with sweat and blood. It was astonishing in a twisted way.

"Deidara." Sasori's voice sounded rougher than sandpaper. He coughed (a horrible, wet sound), and then took a huge, rattling breath. "I feel… I feel—"

"I know it's painful, un," Deidara interrupted quickly, assessing his partner's head condition. It didn't look _too_ bad as of now, but he wouldn't know for sure unless he shaved all the red locks off, which he would surely go to Hell for. "You just survived a bomb. Anyone would—"

"That's not the point, you stupid brat!" choked Sasori. He looked nearly delirious with panic. "Why am I feeling things in the first place? Answer me!"

"You…" Deidara was left speechless.

"I have to find him." To the blonde's shock, Sasori started to heave himself up from the ground, looking constipated with heavy determination and effort. "I need to find out what he did to me. I must—"

"Calm down, Danna," Deidara muttered, scrambling forward to grab the redhead's shoulders before he toppled right over. "You're not yourself at the moment, un."

"Of course I'm not myself!" shouted Sasori, his eyes bulging from his skull. "Look at me!"

"I know, un!" Deidara almost yelled back. "I saw you, damn it! So just settle down—"

"How can you say that!" Sasori sounded like he was on the brink of hysteria. It was very much unlike him, and it truly scared Deidara. "How can you say that when your most treasured masterpiece is gone like _that!" _And as if all his remaining power had dissipated, the redhead slumped back to the ground like a string-less puppet. He resorted to staring blankly at nothing while seemingly falling into a stupor.

"Look, um… we need to get you somewhere safer, un," Deidara finally said, deciding that lingering in this place was not a good idea. "I… I'll find us an inn or something." He reached out and grabbed Sasori's arm and slung it around his shoulder, and heaved him up to his feet; the redhead didn't even protest. He continued to stare wide-eyed unblinking, at something the blonde couldn't see. Knowing that Sasori was probably even more confused than anyone else, Deidara decided to keep his mouth shut for the time being, his lips tingling with the overwhelming urge to shower his partner with questions. Deidara quickly made another clay bird and hauled Sasori on it, and took off into the sky without another moment's hesitation. He made sure to keep a firm hold on the redhead's wrist, in case he fell off. Deidara piloted them towards the nearest ninja-free community he could remember, a place called Kumamoto Town that he'd only seen in passing. It took only ten minutes to reach, but to Deidara it felt like ten years. His ears were pounding with his heartbeat and he almost couldn't distinguish between left and right, but thankfully they managed to reach their destination without any other hindrances.

* * *

The town itself wasn't too overcrowded, to Deidara's relief. He practically dragged Sasori down the dirt road, earning strange looks from nearby passing people. By the time he spotted a sign labelling the building as a motel, his face was damp with sweat and his arms were severely cramped. Making sure to berate Sasori later for being such a heavy luggage, he quickly scanned the building with his eye. It surely wasn't the best place to stay, with crumbling bricks and a few cracked windows, but right now the clay artist really couldn't care less. And with the sun already starting to set, he had no choice.

The young lady at the reception desk was no different than the people on the streets. She gave them a long stare before finally giving in to Deidara's breathless request for a room as he shoved his way through the front doors.

"Sure thing, sir, but we won't have enough futons for two, I'm afraid." She peered at Sasori's vacant appearance with a curious look. "Is your friend okay?"

"He's fine; he's just had a bit of a shock, un." Well, a shock was an understatement. By now, enough of Sasori's consciousness had returned so that he was able to walk on his own, but the dazed expression never left his face as he stumbled up the stairs. Deidara opened the door to their room and ushered the redhead inside, and locked the knob with the key. The blonde heaved an enormous sigh of relief as he collapsed against the closed entryway, but apparently it was still too early to relax. Once they were safely inside and alone, Sasori finally snapped.

"_This is your entire fault, you foolish brat!"_ he shouted, stomping up to the blonde to impale him with the most murderous glare that ever existed in history of mankind. "If it weren't for you and your stupid bombs then this would've never happened!"

"Wh— _Hey,_ un!" Deidara cried angrily, jumping at the sudden outburst. "Why is it all on _me? _If you weren't screwing around in the first place then we wouldn't be here right now! Why'd you mess with substances you don't know anything about, huh? You of all people would know that better than anyone else!"

"I wasn't actually going to use it, you half-baked moron!" Sasori snarled, spit flying from his mouth. "This… you… _fuck!" _He kicked a nearby cabinet with all the force he could muster, only to cry out in pain as his toe gave a nasty 'crack' when it made contact with the wood.

Another deep breath was taken. "Look, Danna, I don't know what's going on and I don't know why Orochimaru and his men would have such things stashed inside their pockets," Deidara said with gritted teeth, knowing that he couldn't lose his cool then. "But right now, we need to make sure you're not going to accidentally kill yourself because you forgot that you're not a puppet anymore, un."

"I'm not a baby," Sasori hissed. "I know how to take care of my own self!"

"Yes, but you're not used to a real human body, un," Deidara said, frustration clawing at his insides. "For the time being, you should… look, just let me be in charge and stick close to me, okay?" He knew he was going to deeply regret it later, but he had to give in everything right now to convince the redhead.

"Are you saying that I'm too weak to be able to defend mys—"

"That's not it and you know it, un!" Deidara snapped, completely fed up with this conversation. "For God's sake, Sasori! Just _listen _for once!"

They glared each other down for another minute, but when Deidara wasn't backing up, Sasori seemed to realize his defeat. His shoulders slumped and he dejectedly slid to the ground against the nearest wall.

Deidara sighed with relief. At least that was the best 'yes' he was going to get from his stubborn partner. He was already completely drained and wanted more than anything else than to turn in for the night, but he knew that it was impossible for the time being.

"Alright, un…" Deidara quickly kneeled down beside his partner, unsure of what to do. "Well… I guess first I need to make sure you're not seriously injured anywhere, Danna…"

"I'm fine," Sasori replied miserably, his eyes looking hollow and lifeless. "I can look after my own wounds."

"Er— okay, well…" Deidara scratched his head; he would make a terrible doctor. "Sometimes it might be better to tell someone else where it hurts the most, because you might not be able to like… see the area and stuff…un…" He mentally kicked himself; he really needed to improve his explaining skills.

Apparently Sasori had thought so as well, because he looked at the clay artist in a very disdainful way. Deidara should've known that it was stupid of him to offer help, when it was obviously very degrading for Sasori especially after he'd already received a blow to his pride. But to his surprise, the redhead looked away with a slight frown, and whispered almost inaudibly, "My head."

"Awesome, un!" Deidara said, relieved, letting out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Er, well, not because you're hurt or anything—"

"Just shut up, brat."

"Right, un. Sorry." He braced himself for another scathing glare. "Is there anywhere else?"

"Back, mostly…" Sasori lowered his eyes as if it ashamed him greatly.

The fact that he was even complying in the first place was perplexing in itself, and Deidara guessed that Sasori was also far too exhausted to argue as well. Obviously, he scoffed to himself. He'd lived as a puppet for twenty years and then suddenly changing back must've definitely been… well, wearying was an understatement.

"Okay, got it, un. I—" Suddenly, Deidara paused. Wait, what was he supposed to do now? He was no medical ninja. He possessed no knowledge in the healing arts; therefore, his questions prior to this current moment would prove to be useless. _What an embarrassment, _he sighed inwardly. He'd have to figure out a way to get out of this discreetly…

"You have no idea what you're doing, are you?" Sasori voiced his inner conflicts. Deidara looked up, and saw that the redhead was regarding him with a look akin to amusement.

"Shut up, un," he grumbled, feeling his face heat up. "At least I still tried."

"Keep trying then." The words were spoken quietly, but he'd heard.

Deidara blinked in confusion. What did he mean by that? Was the redhead expecting him to make an even bigger fool out of himself or something? A very Sasori-ish thing, it was. His jaw dropped in surprise though, when Sasori grudgingly reached for his cloak and took it off, exposing his bare torso. Deidara had never been more stunned to see living flesh before. Seeing it under a brighter light and from a closer range, the clay artist couldn't help but stare once more in astonishment. The sheer impact of _seeing—_

"Catching flies, brat?" Deidara snapped his mouth shut when he realized that he'd been gaping for the past thirty seconds. "I'm not getting any younger here."

"Right, sorry, uhh…" The blonde mentally slapped himself and pulled his senses together. "Alright, could you turn around, un?"

Sasori did as told, and Deidara stopped himself from wincing. The flesh was littered with colorful bruises blossoming onto the pale skin, and it very sight of it made Deidara's own back ache. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any major openings in the flesh itself and nothing that needed stitching up. It was actually a miracle that the redhead survived the bomb, and he guessed that the transformation had occurred right after the main explosion. _Thank God for that, _Deidara thought absentmindedly, without really thinking about what it meant.

"Does it look bad?" It was an innocent question, but it was filled with resignation. Although he couldn't see his face, the tone would've matched his current expression flawlessly.

"Yeah, un." Deidara saw no point in lying. "How could you not have felt this before?"

"I never said I didn't," Sasori said sullenly. "I didn't see the point in telling you, is all."

Deidara rolled his eyes. "Wonderful, Danna. That's the first step you've taken towards killing yourself. It doesn't look like you've broken anything though, or else you'd be rolling around on the ground crying. Go wash up first, un."

Sasori turned to glare at him from under his thick eyelashes. "You're pushing it, brat."

"Whatever, un." Deidara crawled over to the cabinet and started to look through its contents. "Hurry, I need to shower too."

Sasori never replied, but just stood up and shakily walked over to the bathroom door. After inspecting the drawers, the blonde realized that the woman had indeed been correct about only having one futon, and it was big enough to barely fit one grown man. He laid it out nevertheless, and quickly straightened out the blankets. Once that was finished, Deidara sighed and collapsed onto the bamboo-lined floor, trying to massage his throbbing temples. The impending inquiries from the rest of the Akatsuki were soon going to hit them like a tsunami wave, and they'd better have come up with a stupendous answer or else, who knew what other sort of humiliation they'd have to live through. He seriously resented Pain for assigning them the mission in the first place; his animosity towards the group leader had grown considerably since last time.

Ten minutes later, the bathroom door slid open to reveal a much cleaner Sasori, his pale skin almost glowing in the lamp light. He walked out in his pants and a towel held in his hand, as he dried his messy red locks with careless sweeps. Now that Deidara was able to finally get a better look at his partner, he felt that there was a much more _humane _vibe about this Sasori, even if his facial features didn't change at all. His skin looked softer, and all the curves and dips of the whole body looked more natural. No more noisy clicks when he moved his limbs severely, and he was _breathing. _That aspect was more calming to Deidara than he'd thought. He wouldn't have to sit there feeling as if he had a lifeless, humanoid doll for a partner, which was definitely a plus sign.

Unfortunately, his tongue was still as sharp as a scorpion's tail, and just as poisonous. "I took the liberty to cool down my injuries with the shower. I don't need your _exquisite _nursing skills to treat them. Perhaps maybe next time, when you've gotten a chance to practice on yourself, I'll let you take care of me."

"What's it like to feel after all those years, un?" Deidara ignored the mocking comments. "Pretty shocking, isn't it?"

"It… truly is strange," Sasori admitted after hesitating. Maybe it was just the trick of the light, but his face was much easier to read now that it had all the muscles in it to twitch into the slightest of expressions. "But I learned that there's no point in grieving over it. I'm going to find Orochimaru," he said with his voice filled with solid determination. "And I will get my body back. But until then, I'll just have to live with it."

"I understand, un," Deidara said, smiling slightly. Sasori's eyes looked more tired than ever. "Get some sleep, Danna. You look like a zombie."

Sasori glanced over to the single futon, and raised his eyebrows. For the first time ever, he looked a little uneasy. "Here?"

"Where else?" Deidara snorted, getting up to his feet and stretching. "That's why it's there, un."

"What about you?" Maybe it was a side-effect of becoming a human all of a sudden, but Sasori actually sounded a little guilty. It was strange to get so many emotions out of the redhead in a single hour. He looked up almost sheepishly at the blonde, and as if he noticed his 'mistake', instantly scrambled to cover it up. "Not that I care or anything—"

"I'll be fine, un." Deidara waved him away before stepping into the bathroom. "Just rest."

~*o*~

As he stared into the mirror while he brushed his teeth, he wondered why he really did let Sasori take the futon. On second thought, he wondered if he should just push him off later and hog the blankets to himself, but then thought better of it. Because despite all his nastiness, Sasori really seemed like no more than a helpless fifteen year old boy who needed someone to look after him. And because he lost all his puppet features, the notion applied to the situation even more.

After spending a great deal of time in the shower, Deidara entered the main room once more. To his amusement, he saw Sasori sprawled out over the futon on his stomach, carefully avoiding his abused back touching anything even while asleep. Deidara observed the peaceful face for a minute, and he knew that this was the most vulnerable Sasori had ever been in his entire ninja life. For some reason, a pang of sympathy squeezed his heart, and without thinking, grabbed the covers and pulled them up to his partner's shoulders. Casting one last look at the redhead, he settled down next to the futon on the hard, bamboo floor and slowly drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Even though he knew that Sasori was still older than him in reality, Deidara felt as if he had suddenly become the Danna. Tomorrow was going to be a _very_ long day. He didn't know why, because it obviously wasn't a laughing matter and definitely not a good one (especially with the situation they were in now), but the blonde felt a tiny spark of happiness at the notion. He vaguely wondered if he had finally gone crazy.

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**Now we will get to see how well Sasori deals with his new human body in the next chapter. ;)**

**Like? Love? Hate? Please tell me what you think; your reviews will be greatly appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sasori might be a little OOC in this chapter, but who can blame him? Well anyways, Enjoy!**

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The next morning, Deidara was not the happiest camper in the universe.

As soon as he regained the slightest consciousness from his troubled slumber, he was met with the excruciating pain equivalent to being trampled by a thousand tailed beasts at once. He cringed as he tried to move his cramped muscles that felt as if they had stiffened to the solidity of a cement statue overnight.

A hard, bamboo floor did not make the best bed for a human being to sleep on.

He unstuck his cheek from the floor and slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. Deidara had never felt worse after waking from a long and undisturbed sleep. He was still dizzy from the blast of the explosions and there were bruises everywhere. He could barely turn his neck without groaning in pain, and his arms and legs screamed in protest if he tried to use them. Oh no, his pain tolerance was very high, all right. But when it got in the way of his much needed rest, that was when things got a little too irksome for the blonde to handle. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he tried to figure out why exactly he was in this pain-in-the-ass situation, and not surrounded in a layer of soft, white bed sheets and a pillow. But more importantly as the seconds dragged by, he pondered upon the reason why he hadn't woken up to a vicious Sasori throwing household appliances at his face. He tediously glanced up at the tiny clock that was ticking away nonchalantly on the wooden cabinet.

12:07.

At once, all exhaustion and what little color he had in his face vanished like a drop of water in the desert. Deidara whipped around frantically for Sasori, wondering if he'd somehow been captured by Orochimaru and his henchmen. What else would explain the reasoning for the blonde sleeping in? He cursed himself for sleeping right through what surely must've been a messy battle. Just as he was about to jump up and dash out of the motel in search for the kidnapper though, his eyes caught sight of a motionless lump of blankets and a mop of red hair peeking out from under them. Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Deidara relaxed and dropped the kunai knife he had unconsciously drawn.

Right. His partner had a bit of a _problem. _

Deidara hesitated, unsure of what followed next. It was definitely out of place for Sasori to sleep in like this, but who could blame him? It only made sense that he'd be exhausted both physically and mentally, and so the best thing to do would be to leave him until he woke up on his own. But then again, Deidara mused, frowning, that would also mean that he too required what every other human being needed in order to properly function: food. If everything that happened yesterday wasn't just a dream, that'd mean that the redhead technically hadn't eaten in twenty years and therefore sustenance was absolutely necessary at the current moment, ASAP. His heart skipped a beat at the thought. If Sasori didn't wake and eat soon, then there was a good chance that he'd sleep and unconsciously starve to d—

_Shit._

"Sasori no Danna!" Deidara shot out a hand and shook his partner's shoulder. "Wake up, un!"

To his alarm, he got no response, and cold sweat began to immediately form on his brow. _Oh God, no…._

"Danna!" Deidara shook him harder. "Wake up! I'm serious, un! Sasori no Danna!" Panic clutched at his chest and suddenly it was very hard to breath. "_Sasori no Danna!"_

Suddenly, the form under the blankets shifted ever so slightly to signal life. Deidara gasped and he ripped off the covers from the body. Sasori was still lying on his stomach with his head facing the other way, but his bruised back rose and fell with every steady breath he took. The clay bomber let out a choked sigh and he almost fainted from relief. However, it was still too early to relax completely.

"Danna, I know you're tired, un," he began more firmly, swallowing hard. "But if you don't wake up now, you won't have enough energy even if you sleep for a week. So you need open your eyes, un."

Just then a strange, sleep-laced nasal sound, an octave or two higher than Sasori's usual voice escaped from the redhead's throat. He shifted once more and buried his face deeper into the pillow. It took him a while to realize what that was, but when he did Deidara froze, taken aback at this very unSasori-ish action. He stifled the urge to laugh.

When the redhead didn't move again, he sighed for what felt like the millionth time and shook his head. It felt very queer to have their positions switched, almost as if he'd become a different person. "Danna, you have to wake up, un," he repeated once again. "Now, or I'll have to resort to other measures, un."

Sasori made the same whining noise, digging his hands under the pillow. Deidara watched almost pitifully, before reaching out with both hands and shaking his partner violently. "DANNA!" he bellowed into the unsuspecting ear. "WAKE UP, UN!"

As expected, Sasori flinched hard and sprang up into a sitting position, looked utterly flabbergasted from being awoken in such a manner. Unfocused brown eyes met blue, and they blinked stupidly at each other for a full five seconds before Deidara flashed him a wide grin.

"Rise and shine, Danna!" he said cheerily. "What a wonderful day it is!"

Sasori just stared at him with a dumbfounded look on his face. His usually half-lidded eyes looked even more drooped with lack of sleep, which was funny, because he'd slept in later than Deidara himself. His hair—oh Lord, _his hair—_was twice as messier than before and it stuck up in every direction in an unruly fashion. "What are you doing, brat?" he managed to murmur, looking as if to fall back asleep any second. The deadliest, most intimidating puppet master Sasori of the Red Sand, reduced to nothing more than a sleepy little child whining to return back to bed.

"It's a heavenly body of happiness and a world of sunshine! We must begin a bright new day with good intentions in our hearts, un!" Deidara flashed a dazzling smile that nearly blinded the poor redhead.

"Have you been sniffing my bottle of wood polish again?" Sasori winced as his back seemed to bother him from all the sudden movements. "What is wrong with you?"

"Oh nothing, Danna." Deidara closed his hazardous mouth and regarded his partner with a more serious look. "Look, we really need to get some food in you, un. If you go on like this, you'll starve to death. You need to get ready as fast as you can."

"I'm not hungry," Sasori mumbled, closing his eyes and flopping back onto the futon. "Go away."

"Stop being such a hypocrite, un," Deidara said, rolling his eyes. "I'm serious. Your body has been deprived from nutrients for two decades and now that it suddenly needs them again, you're going to have a hard time surviving, un. If you don't get up this instant, I'm going to have to drag you out."

He didn't receive an answer. Sasori's cheek was smothered into the pillow, pressing his mouth into a pout. Deidara, despite the urgency of the situation, actually had to admit that he looked somewhat cute. You didn't get thirty-five year olds stuck in fifteen year old looks every day. He couldn't help but treat him like a little kid now and then, even if it did get him ended up on the receiving end of Sasori's wrath.

However, there was something else more important that had to be dealt with at the current moment. Deidara got up to his feet, grabbed each of Sasori's wrists and yanked as hard as he could. The redhead had no choice up to fall limply into a sitting position again, and stayed that way thanks to Deidara's support.

"Danna," the clay artist said in a stern voice. "If you don't want to be exploded out of bed then I suggest you get up now, un. Hurry."

That did the job. Sasori's eyes opened and glared into his own. Snatching his wrists out of the blonde's hands, he groaned and rubbed his face. He lingered for a moment or two longer, before dragging himself up and staggering towards the bathroom.

"Brush your teeth, wash your face, use the toilet, and don't forget to wash your hands, un!" Deidara called after him, quickly and efficiently folding up the futon.

"Don't tell me what to do, brat," Came Sasori's annoyed voice from the bathroom.

"Just reminding you, un!" Deidara stuffed the futon back into the cabinet and dressed in fresh clothes. He rummaged into an inside pocket sewn onto his cloak, and pulled out a pouch filled with his money. He had just received his most recent pay from the week-long mission before, and it was a rather substantial amount. Thankfully he hadn't taken it out of his pocket due to his laziness. Well, it would probably be all spent soon enough… Deidara grimaced. Once Sasori had returned to the room, Deidara ran inside and got ready for the day. He quickly splashed water on his face, fixed his hair, and brushed his teeth. To be honest, he'd never felt this anxious to get ready after rising. There was the issue with the rest of the Akatsuki, although Deidara had a creeping feeling that Pain somehow already knew about their incident. He grimaced; how exactly would he explain all this to the other members? _Oh, sorry, I accidentally blew up Sasori instead of Orochimaru, and as a result he drank a potion that turned him back into a human. Oh, and it was totally unintentional, of course. _Yeah, that'd go along real well. Shaking his head, Deidara decided to leave out the conversation he would soon be having with the group leader and focused on his main task. He'd take Sasori to a restaurant. And who cares if the redhead didn't like the food there.

* * *

Thanks to this sudden turn of events and the unexpected change that took over his partner, Deidara was learning more and more things about the redhead than he'd ever imagined. Truth be told, he was quite stunned, to say the least. And no matter how hard he tried to blatantly ignore this, he couldn't help but gape at almost every action.

First and fore mostly, Deidara wasn't going to beat around the bush. To put it straightforward and bluntly, Sasori ate like a glutton.

It just so happened that the first place they came across was a barbeque house, and Deidara quickly pulled Sasori in along with him, who'd finally realized himself that he was starving to death. Although it was quite a heavy meal for a breakfast/lunch, he'd ordered a set of pork ribs nevertheless. If he'd been paying more attention, he would have noticed the scary glint in Sasori's eyes as he hungrily stared at the slices of roasting meat sizzling merrily on the grill. The moment the clay artist deemed that they were fully cooked, Sasori snatched up the pieces like a starved vulture and shoved them into his mouth in an almost ferocious manner. When the grill was picked clean, he hadn't hesitated to order more. Just like that, the redhead alone inhaled a whole set of ribs that could've fed three people in the blink of an eye, Deidara frozen and watching him with shock.

"Slow down, Danna," he finally spluttered when Sasori reached for the last slice of pork that lay on the grill. "You'll get sick, un!"

"Don't tell me what to do." The words were spoken flatly, but it lost its commanding effect since he'd shoved a spoonful of rice into his mouth at the same moment. He grabbed a bowl of miso, ingesting the entire soup down to the very last drop. Finally, he ceased his hyena-like actions and fell back against the chair, catching his breath. "I have to admit that I missed that."

"Of course you did, do you think I don't notice you staring at me when I eat sometimes, un?" Deidara rolled his eyes. That had to be a new record. Even Hidan couldn't have eaten that fast.

"I wasn't staring, brat. I was merely trying to bring up memories of what it felt like to eat again."

"And yet you still insist you hate how the human body works, un. Great."

"Of course I do, it's just…" Sasori sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. "You know what, forget it. This should suffice." He nodded towards the messy table.

"…I'm glad you liked it so much, un," muttered Deidara, nibbling on a piece of lettuce. The blonde watched amusedly as Sasori wiped a hand over his damp forehead with a disgusted look. "You eat like a pig, Danna."

Sasori shot him an irritated look. "Excuse me?" he snapped.

"Nothing, un." Deidara finished his bowl of rice and stood up. He dreaded the thought of what came after. Suddenly, he felt as if he had become Kakuzu.

"Where are you going?"

"Someone's gotta pay for all this, un." Deidara cringed at the thought of the bill. "And I'm sure you don't carry money with you unless you need more puppet supplies and such, un. I'll meet you outside." He turned around and left for the front desk, leaving a slightly troubled Sasori behind.

~*o*~

Another fact that Deidara had discovered that afternoon was that Sasori had an incredibly sweet tooth.

It seemed that as the day progressed, he was getting more and more uncharacteristic details out of the puppet master and the clay artist wasn't sure if he found it to be funny or scary.

He'd unintentionally discovered this particular trait from his partner when they had been walking along the streets for a convenience store to buy a new toothbrush and a shirt for the redhead. At one point, they had been stopped by a merchant selling different trinkets and accessories from a vendor, and Deidara was peering at a sculpture of an eagle when he realized that he didn't feel his partner's presence near him anymore. Looking up, he saw him standing a few feet away, staring longingly into a window that belonged, to Deidara's surprise, a candy shop. For some reason, seeing Sasori's lost, almost innocent face made his heart ache. He cursed himself for getting so soft all of a sudden, but the feeling remained. The next moment, he found himself and the redhead inside the store, watching almost sadly as his partner picked out what he wanted and presenting them wordlessly to Deidara. The cashier lady had smiled sweetly at them, asking if Deidara's 'little brother' wanted a free slice of cake. They had been stunned speechless no doubt, but on the other hand, who could refuse free stuff? After that, Sasori kept his eyes down as they continued down the road, the end of a cherry lollipop sticking out of his mouth, a bag filled with chocolates and the aforementioned cake held tightly in his hand.

Deidara sighed quietly, all excitement from the previous barbeque house dissipating. He suddenly felt so much older than his usual self. As they made their last stop to the convenience store and finished buying what they needed, the two of them trudged back to the motel. When they reached their room, Sasori sat down next to the cabinet and leaned against the wall, resting his elbows on his knees. His eyes reflected his inner turmoil as they stared absentmindedly off into space.

"I hate this body."

It wasn't just because of the sweat, or the random itches that attacked him, or any other humane characteristics that were present and raging. Deidara knew that Sasori didn't speak of his memories, and right now he knew that the redhead hated himself more than ever because of the resurfacing emotions the blonde knew he had tried so hard to repress. Deidara didn't know anything about Sasori's past. He'd never bothered to ask, because he knew that the subject was better left untouched. He also knew that there had been something else to the candy shop, yet he did have the decency to keep his mouth shut. Becoming a human was more than just a reminder to Sasori what life had been like back as a child. It was almost as if he had gone back, and even Deidara could see it.

"I know, un." His voice was quiet, afraid to disturb the silence. "I know."

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**Like? Love? Hate? Please tell me what you think; your reviews will be greatly appreciated! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Again, I'm sorry for the delay. I had a couple different versions of this chapter and I had to edit and take out some parts, for the sake of the next part. Enjoy!**

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Never in his life before had Deidara found himself to be stuck in a situation even remotely similar to the one he was in now. As if that wasn't enough, his mind constantly tortured him with conflicting thoughts concerning his current and future troubles, different emotions stirring and churning into a raging storm inside his belly and making him almost physically sick. Of course, he could only wish it would be as simple as hurling up the contents of his stomach along with his chain of mashed up sentiments, but as a sensible man walking down a street packed with watching eyes, he'd rather not be scraped up off the ground by a handful of random healers and tossed on a stretcher to be hauled away to God knows where. No, right now he'd have to concentrate on his current, glorious task that was laid out before him; as glorious as a golden platter carrying a nice, parsley-sprinkled pile of shit.

He'd never imagined he'd have to be doing Sasori's shopping.

Oh, and it wasn't just regular shopping, either. Deidara would gladly be in a grocery store picking out ingredients of a nice, sizeable Akatsuki 'family dinner' instead, as Kisame jokingly put it once when they gathered for supper quite a while ago. No, this was shopping for _Sasori, _or to be more specific, Sasori's underthings.

It happened to occur to the pair of artists the following day after the barbeque incident, which the redhead had to make a few adjustments to his everyday attire. Not only did he need to buy a shirt (not just _any _regular shirt, Sasori had argued, when Deidara randomly held out a V-neck that matched Sasori's hair color flawlessly) that was suitable for a ninja, the puppet master had complained excessively that his pants were getting uncomfortable in particular areas.

"So?" Deidara had grumbled when Sasori squirmed on the bamboo floor of their room for the kajillionth time. "Your fault for becoming human, un."

"How the hell is that _my _fault, brat?" Sasori had snapped, but stopped when he had to shift his sitting position once more. He paused, and suddenly he couldn't quite meet the blonde's eye, his brow creasing slightly. Nevertheless, he said quietly, "Go buy a pair of boxers or something."

"_What the hell_, Danna?" Deidara said disbelievingly. "Why do _I_ have to buy _your _underwear, un?"

"I'm not going to go out there _boxer-less _asking for a pair of boxers, you idiot!"

"What does _that _have to do with it, un! It's not like they can see that you're not wearing any underwear or anything! And people are supposed to get their own personal items, Danna!"

"Deidara, get your ass out of this motel and do as I say, or say goodbye to your blondeness."

"Y-you'd cut my hair?"

"It'd be much more than that, brat."

There had been no room to argue further. Deidara had trudged out into the pleasant sunlight, seething, cursing his luck for all it was worth. And so, to his dismay, he found himself purchasing a pair of boxers from a nearby shop (he contemplating getting one with pink strawberries on it for good measure, but he decided he wanted to live a day longer) and now was heading back to the motel with a scowl plastered to his face. If these didn't fit him, well, Sasori could walk around naked for all he cared.

When he returned, he threw the boxers at the redhead's face and flopped down face-first on the messy futon like a dead corpse, hoping the deprivation of oxygen would help avoid the oncoming migraine. This was wonderful; Sasori now considered himself to be some sort of God, with the way he was ordering the clay artist to do his things for him. Deidara had spent all morning bustling in and out of the motel fetching whatever his partner demanded, and now it was well into noon and Deidara just about had had enough. Take deeps breaths, his inside voice told him, but then remembered he couldn't because he was suffocating himself, and so quickly rolled over onto his back and tried again.

Right now, his inner peace had been crushed flat into a pancake, extremely similar to the very pancakes that Sasori had wolfed down for his own breakfast earlier throughout the day. Just what exactly were they doing? What in the world was _he _doing? It was amazing that Pain hadn't summoned them yet for a hologram meeting, asking about what the hell they were up to right now. Or perhaps the Leader knew, and he was purposely leaving them alone to watch Deidara suffer. Because despite his bubbling animosity towards the man, it would make much more sense than this apparent ignorance to their pain.

As he gazed up at the worn ceiling above however, some of his anger gradually faded into something akin to worry. It obviously wouldn't be easy going from puppet to human all of a sudden, he kept telling himself, with nothing else to be prepared with. Thankfully Sasori remembered how to breathe and all that, but old habits were hard to break; seeing Sasori's apparent love for sweets emphasized that point. Deidara didn't know the whole back story, but he was almost certain the redhead had liked candy as a child. If he lived as a puppet for twenty years, then his instincts would surely be likely to act as it would in an artificial body. Blocking oncoming attacks such as deflecting kunai by simply raising an arm would definitely not end well. Deidara tried assuring himself that Sasori wasn't stupid and he wouldn't do anything dangerous, deliberately or not, but he still couldn't help feeling slightly restless.

Plus also, there was the whole thing with Orochimaru…

The snake bastard himself had said specifically that the potion was incomplete. Who knew what sort of side effects could take place? Not even the creator might be aware of the possible disasters the concoction might bring. The body was not safe, even if they were far from Orochimaru and his henchmen's grasps. They could be walking on very thin ice for all he knew. Deidara genuinely hoped that Sasori wouldn't grow an extra head or something.

Nevertheless, Deidara knew that the redhead was doing better than any other would and he constantly felt it his duty to keep his partner from harm. Because every time, the clay artist felt a little sympathy when he saw the puppet master visibly struggling but keeping his mouth stubbornly shut free of complaints for the sake of his pride. No one would believe him if he said so; sympathy didn't go with either of their names that well. Deidara felt like an irresponsible teenager that constantly did things that he would later on come to regret. Or at least that's how he felt about his short outbursts at the redhead, even if he could be infuriating. It would take time for both of them to adjust, but perhaps he'd remember to take it easy next time…

When Sasori had re-emerged from the bathroom, having successfully changed into his new boxers, Deidara was waiting for him with a knowing grin. The redhead glared and sat as far away from the blonde as he could, but anyone could see a slight pink tinge staining the pale cheeks. Deidara bit down a laugh. The formidable Sasori of the Red Sand, blushing? Preposterous.

And so after that, the two of them were plunged into silence and Deidara was too pre-occupied with fretting over the inevitable meeting with the group Leader that he failed to notice any tension there might have been present.

"Brat." It was softly spoken, but sudden nonetheless. The puppet master was studying the grooves in the bamboo floor as if it fascinated him greatly. His face looked strangely drawn from the angle the blonde was at, as he sat pensively on the other side of the room.

Deidara's head shot up from his own thoughts. "Yes, Danna?"

"I need to go find Orochimaru."

The clay artist rolled his eyes. "I know that, un. We'll find him. But as of now, we don't even know where to start, un."

"We can ask Leader." Deidara froze. "He'll be able to do something about it."

"Are you mad, un? We can't just go up to him and tell him everything that's happened. He'll want answers, Danna. Have we got any?"

"The truth." Sasori ignored Deidara's stunned face. "What else have we got to offer? Pain will know if we're lying or not. And he's warned us enough times of what happens if we do."

"Are you scared of him, un?" said Deidara incredulously. "You're really not thinking of 'giving up' now, are you? Look, I think we're better off if we try and gather information on our own and get to Orochimaru before Leader catches on, un."

"No, Deidara, he'll know. And besides, just because I've become a human doesn't mean I've lost my skills. Sure, I don't have my ultimate weapon, but… Look, I don't like this any more than you do," Sasori said angrily, his eyes radiating determination. "And I'll do whatever it takes to get my body back. And believe it or not, telling Leader is one of the options available and I will not let a single one pass!"

"I know that, un!" Deidara almost yelled in frustration. He then stopped himself and took deep breaths, muttering words of calm before continuing. "Danna, please. Let's not come to hasty conclusions. We _will_ be going after Orochimaru, but we still have some time to think about how. Why don't we try brainstorming about this, un?"

"How will _brainstorming _help in any way when every minute of time is precious —"

"We just need to think about all the possible ways we can turn you back to normal with involving as little people as possible, un," Deidara said exasperatedly. Since when did he become the one who explained plans to the other? The clay artist feared that their lives would switch and stay that way. No, he could never let that happen. Art was fleeting, not eternal. And then he tried not to think about the fact that right now, art didn't have to do with anything. "And then from the list, we can choose the plan that suits us both the best! It's not that hard, Danna. Although we can't waste too much time and Pain might summon us any day now, un."

"Tch. You, me, coming to an agreement?" Sasori smirked. "It is unheard of."

Deidara snorted. "Yeah, whatever." Suddenly, he felt very claustrophobic and suffocated in the small motel room. He stood up and stretched, then went over to slip on his sandals. "In the meantime, I'll go get some food, un."

The clay artist turned to leave through the door, and because of that he completely missed Sasori wincing slightly, as he brought up a hand to gingerly rub at his chest.

* * *

**Oh no, what's wrong with our Sasori? D: **

**Like? Love? Hate? Please tell me what you think; your reviews will be greatly appreciated! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This one's kind of long. Enjoy!**

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"Er, Sasori no Danna?"

"Mm?"

"…I thought you wanted to go after Orochimaru, un?"

Sasori's head shot up to glare at the blonde from where he was previously occupied with stuffing his face as if he had no regrets. The glare had no effect though, because his cheeks were bulging to the point of bursting, with confectioneries that he'd mysteriously returned with earlier throughout the day. It made him look like an overgrown chipmunk, which Deidara found to be hilarious yet scary at the same time.

It took a while for him to swallow everything that was in his mouth, but he eventually gulped down the last remnants of the strawberry cake and wiped his chin with the back of his hand, scowling. "Of course I do," he growled, trying to flick the icing off of his fingers with no success. "This disgusting—" he flicked his hand again, "bothersome—" and again, "and fragile _thing_ you call a body is going to be the end of me."

"For someone who hates being human, you sure are indulging yourself, un," Deidara muttered, throwing his partner a handful of napkins. "When are we leaving then?"

"All in time, brat." Sasori opened a small box of chocolate hedgehogs rather heartily. "Have a little patience."

"And you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Deidara retorted sarcastically. "You need to stop eating that crap, Danna. It's not healthy, un."

The redhead had already wolfed down the hedgehogs and was now reaching for yet _another _item from the plastic bag that seemed to yield an unlimited, never-ending number of sweets in its colossal pouch. "Since when did you care so much?" Sasori asked flatly, pulling out a packaged, cherry-flavoured ice cream cone and chomping down on it fiercely. "I don't ever recall having requested for your assistance in the way I live my life."

"You'll die of diabetes before you even get a chance to leave this place, un!" cried Deidara exasperatedly. "I've never seen anyone eat so many chocolate éclairs at once!"

"Shut up brat, I do what I want." The blank, impassive face was not as formidable with a small bit of pink ice cream smeared at the corner of his mouth. "This is all part of the process."

Deidara tried not to violently face palm himself into a comatose. He'd never expected the fearsome Sasori to be so... he couldn't even find the word. How could he be so out of character, and not at the same time? As he watched helplessly while the redhead snarked down the ice cream, he couldn't help but wonder where the Sasori he really knew went, and legitimately pondered if this was the sign of the apocalypse. Deidara felt as if he and the puppet master were becoming more and more insane in their own separate ways. Akatsuki didn't need more lunatics; they were already having a hard time dealing with Hidan.

"Do you _ever _stop eating, un?" Deidara asked miserably, sweeping his eye over the huge mess they, or more accurately, Sasori had made.

"_What?_" the redhead had somehow miraculously managed to sound just as frustrated, as he gave the clay artist a dirty look. "I'm _hungry._"

Deidara wanted to march up to Orochimaru right now and demand to know whether the potion left the drinker in a substitute of another person's body, thus switching every characteristic and needs said body called for. That would be a good explanation as to why Sasori was acting like this. He was becoming one of those people who 'ate their feelings', as Deidara liked to put it, and regardless of the fact that he looked like he was enjoying himself too much, the clay artist knew that in the end, Sasori still hadn't gotten over his initial shock in the first place. It was now two days after the barbeque incident, and Deidara was still chewing his nails over the ever-approaching hologram summon from a curious Pain, wondering what they were up to in the middle of a tiny village that nobody's ever heard of.

"Hey, brat." Deidara blinked and looked over to where Sasori was sitting cross-legged, his gorging having finally subsided and now he looked frighteningly serene. "How many times have you gone to the bathroom today?"

"…_What, _un?"

"Answer me." Sasori held his calm gaze, unlike Deidara's utterly bemused demeanor.

"Uh… twice?"

"When?"

"...This morning, and probably half an hour after breakf… wait a minute, _why_ am I telling you all this?"

"There's something wrong with me."

"Of _course _there's something wrong with you, no normal person would go around asking people when they took a piss, un!"

"How many times are you supposed to go to the bathroom, then?" Sasori asked, ignoring the blonde's previous statement.

Deidara gaped at his partner. "Are you serious, un!?"

"Does it look like I'm joking?" Sasori snapped, looking a little affronted.

"What— I don't even—" Deidara had nothing to choke on, so he had to make do with his own spit. "You're supposed to _know _when it's time for you to use the toilet, un!"

"How?" Sasori frowned. "It's been a while and I can't remember. Is there a certain schedule to it?"

Deidara smacked his face into the wall beside him.

~*o*~

After a short but particularly mortifying conversation of what 'I'm-about-to-piss-my-pants' feels like, Deidara found himself to be completely drained. Thankfully, Sasori at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed afterwards, but it served him right. The clay artist was currently taking up the entire futon and absentmindedly picking at the loose strands in the blankets, feeling less and less like an S-ranked criminal ninja by the minute. The tedious hours inched by with the two of them doing practically nothing, and Deidara was more than ready to dash outside and blow up the entire village. However his logical mind told him otherwise and so he refrained from doing so, though only just.

"Hey, Sasori no Danna," Deidara finally said after another minute of string-picking.

"Hm?"

"When we catch Orochimaru, I'm going to let him get a real taste of what art is, un."

"Hn."

"And don't you start going on about how art is eternal and all that shit, yeah. True art is defined by my explosions, un."

"Mm."

"Maybe the next time I put on a great show, I'll let you share the front seat with me. Then maybe you will finally appreciate my work for all its beauty, un."

"Mm."

"ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP ANSWERING WITH MONOTONOUS SYLLABLES, UN!?"

"Hmmm…"

"Ass," Deidara muttered, scowling. He rolled over so that he was facing the redhead. "How many dogs does Orochimaru have at his feet again?"

"...More than I can remember," Sasori said after a while with a shrug. "He likes to gather a lot of 'apprentices' on his travels. His favorite is Kabuto, the guy with the glasses we fought at the time. Mysterious kid, if you ask me. A lot like you, I bet," he added with a glare in the direction of the blonde. "Stuck-up, good-for-nothing little brat, lazy—"

"_Hey, un!" _Deidara yelled angrily, brandishing a fist at the puppet master. "Watch what you're saying! And you're one to talk about being lazy, Danna. I swear, you're harder to wake up than the dead! What happened to being punctual and all that shit, un?"

"Shut it, brat, I was tired," snarled Sasori, although to Deidara's immense satisfaction, didn't quite meet the blonde's eye. He rubbed at a spot on under his collarbone absentmindedly. "I haven't been human for—"

"Five hundred years, yeah, yeah." Deidara rolled his eyes. "Fine, sleep through the entire day; see if I care, un. It's not like I'm being extra nice and allowing you to sleep in somewhat when you always made me feel like a zombie—"

"That's quite enough, you idiot, now shut your mouth." Sasori raised his hand, and once again pressed a few fingers into a spot on his chest as if testing it. The blonde almost missed the slightest of frowns etched onto the redhead's face.

"What's up, un?" he asked casually.

"Nothing," Sasori said nonchalantly. He lowered his hand and met the other's gaze blandly. "Just thinking of new chest compartments I could make on my latest puppets."

"…Okay." Deidara looked into the brown eyes a moment longer, before looking at the clock. "It's almost seven, un. We should probably grab some dinner."

Sasori just got to his feet and slipped on his Akatsuki cloak over his shirt. As they fumbled around with the sandals, he said quietly, "We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning. As for how we're going to track Orochimaru, well, I remember them heading west after our battle. We can start by going to the Land of Wind. I have a few spies in the Hidden Sand Village that'll be on the lookout."

"Hidden Sand, eh?" They headed down the stairs and out onto the streets. A chilly breeze blew about them, sending pages of newspapers rolling down the road. "Wonder what he's doing there."

"Like I said, he likes to travel," Sasori said flatly. "Gather test subjects, anyone who's willing to follow him, other data he'll find to be useful for his researches."

"Well, whatever he's doing, I wouldn't want to know, un." They spotted a decent-looking restaurant with only a few customers and entered. "He's not artistic; it's just plain creepy, un."

Sasori scoffed as they sat at an empty table in the back corner of the shop. "Got that right," he muttered under his breath, opening up the menu.

They ended up ordering a bowl of beef-topped ramen with boiled eggs for Deidara, a small bento with chicken teriyaki rice for Sasori (eel is too expensive, Sasori reprimanded when the blonde suggested it), and a small plate of dango for them to share. The meal was relatively peaceful, if you take out Deidara nearly spewing fire because he accidentally added too much hot sauce on his ramen. For a minute through his watering eyes, the blonde thought he saw a hint of a smile on Sasori's face as he gulped down an entire jug of water, but the redhead looked back down to his food and it was gone.

Every once in a while, Deidara would notice Sasori discreetly bringing his hand up from under the table to half scratch, half rub at his chest cavity. He wondered if it was the shirt that was bothering him. Perhaps it was too itchy? It was soft enough when he had bought it. Growing a little suspicious, but deciding not to think too much about it, he finished his ramen, carefully avoiding the ominous red pepper chunks that were floating around in the soup.

~*o*~

When they had returned to their motel, it was nearing eight. Wanting to spend a little more time outside, Deidara resorted to exploring the town more, until to his delight, came across a pottery shop. However, he was a bit disappointed when he found that there weren't any sculptures alike his own, but waved the thought away quickly. His art was his and his only, and no one else would be able to copy it. The shop owner did have some fairly good quality clay though, and of course, Deidara couldn't just walk away. He bought a good pouchful, and resumed wandering the streets with a new spring in his steps.

Once the sun started to set and the sky was plunged into a half-darkness, he had to return. After a few minutes of contemplating and arguing with himself (internally, of course. He didn't want to be labelled as Zetsu Number Two), he stopped to buy a small lollipop from a closing vendor. He also involuntarily made sure that it was cherry-flavoured, which seemed to be Sasori's favorite. Deidara rolled his eyes at his unintentional thoughtfulness. What was he now, a mom?

When he returned to their room, Sasori was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he noticed a bright light flooding through the crack in the door from the bathroom. He plopped down next to the cabinet and set down his shopping next to him. So tomorrow, they'll be off on what could very well be a wild goose chase. Although, mused Deidara, if Orochimaru really did end up going to the Land of Wind, it wouldn't be too hard to find him. After all, most of the country was just hot, stifling desert land that stretched on for miles and miles, and there weren't much habitable places to hide in. And now that his supply of clay was full once more, he could easily send out trackers to locate any traces of the snake bastard's chakra.

* * *

After a while later, Sasori appeared from the bathroom. His shirt was a little rumpled, as if he had hastily put it on. He sat on the opposite side of the clay artist without a word of greeting. Well, he didn't expect anything from someone like him, anyway.

Deidara moved closer to the redhead, earning a raised eyebrow from the puppet master. Grinning, the blonde reached into his pocket and held out the lollipop in front of his partner's face. At this, Sasori's eyebrows crept higher into his fringe in question.

"For you, un." As if it hadn't been more obvious.

"Weren't you the one complaining about how I was going to get diabetes?" Sasori said, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

Deidara shrugged. "Saw an old geezer selling it on my way back. I saw it and felt bad, un. Plus, you like lollipops, don't you?"

"Since when did you grow a soft spot for the poor?" snorted Sasori. "I thought you were an apathetic, insane little brat who liked to blow them up."

Deidara groaned. "Look, can't you just accept it and say thank you without questioning my morals, un?"

"Fine. I appreciate your kindness, brat." Sasori smirked and reached for the candy, and slid it into an inside pocket of his Akatsuki cloak that lay neatly folded at his side. "You know, if anyone else saw us like this, they'd think that we're best fr—" He suddenly cut himself off, and his eyes widened a tiny fraction of a millimeter.

"What, can't bring yourself to say it, un?" shot back Deidara, giving his own smirk. "…Danna?" He blinked, and peered into his partner's face somewhat anxiously. "Are you okay, un…?"

Sasori only let out a small grunt, his brow flickering into a slight frown. He reached up and clutched his chest, fingers digging into the shirt. But as quickly as it happened, he removed his hand and straightened up, brushing out the wrinkles in the fabric, his brow smoothing out once more, although there was still something slightly amiss in his expression.

"What's wrong?" Deidara asked sharply.

"It's nothing, I just sort of choked on my own spit," Sasori assured him. "Even you did it before."

"Danna, this isn't the first time I've seen you do that, un," Deidara argued back. "Remember what I said before? You need to tell me if anything's wrong."

"And I'm telling you that it's nothing," snapped Sasori, glaring. "Move your ass, I'm going to sleep." He crawled over to the futon and slipped inside, throwing the covers over his entire form.

"Sasori no Danna!" Deidara cried, pulling at his hair in frustration as the redhead evidently avoided giving an explanation. He got no reply from the stubborn lump underneath the blankets. With a heavy heart but knowing that whatever he did now would be futile, Deidara groaned, and threw himself down on his makeshift bed built out of his Akatsuki cloak and his bag, forcing himself to sleep and hurriedly forget his aggravation.

The mental exhaustion must've taken its toll, because the clay artist fell asleep quicker than expected. Therefore he would never know that beneath the blankets of the cold futon, Sasori was biting at his lip, trying not to cry out from the pain that suddenly attacked him without warning once more.

* * *

**A/N: For one thing, I'm pretty sure Sasori wouldn't actually forget what it's like to want to go to the bathroom. xD But for the sake of comic relief, I decided to shove that in there. But anyways; *le gasp* what will happen to our favorite puppet master? ;o If you want, leave a review to guess what's going on! Whoever guesses right or close enough will get...er... a big lollipop from Sasori and Deidara! lol ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Once again, sorry for the wait! Although from now on, I think my regular updating time will be once a week, because that seems to be the pattern these days. ^_^; I am well aware that school is about to start (unfortunately D:) but I've had a bunch of volunteering to do that took up a lot of my time, plus this chapter is pretty long so it took a while. Thank you again to all those who are reading and have reviewed my story! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Deidara was flying. And no, he wasn't gliding on his usual clay bird; his body was sailing over the treetops as if it weighed no more than a light feather, his arms outstretched. He crossed great mountains and vast seas, smiling in content at the peaceful scene. For once, he didn't feel like blowing up the birds that flew alongside him, and so he just continued his flight comfortably along the breeze, his head tilted towards the sky._

_ He didn't remember his apprehension from the past few days; in fact, he didn't remember anything at all, except for the very few happy memories he actually had, a very long time ago that _didn't _involve his artful explosions. He thought he'd forgotten all of them, but now they came rushing back almost as if he had returned to the past. _

_ Although a small part of his consciousness reminded him that he was still within the ranks of a top-class criminal organization, for some reason it didn't affect his mood, almost as if it was just a hazy background in his life that didn't matter at all to him. If there was one thing he had to say about it, it was that he missed the danger. The challenges, and the constant risk of death that comes flying at you so that you must always be on your feet; the thrill of the knowledge that you could very well die, any day. But pretty soon, his doubts were washed away with the same, pleasant feeling that he had experienced ever since the beginning of this wonderful flight._

_ But all of a sudden, the clay artist felt a small, wet drop of water hit his forehead. That was strange, he thought absentmindedly. The day was clear and the sun was out; it shouldn't be raining... He flinched at the sudden contact, but kept on flying. Another drop landed on his eyebrow, so he lifted his hand to wipe it away before it ran into his eye. When he removed his hand, he choked and felt his heart leap in horror. _

_Smeared all over his fingers, was bright red blood. As if on cue, the sky began to pour crimson blood rain, soaking Deidara to the core in mere seconds. He yelped in shock, and made the mistake of looking down._

_ The fields of grass and calming meadows were gone, only to be replaced by a horrid scene of battle. The stench of rotting blood and flesh filled his lungs; bodies were strewn everywhere, and huge rivers of blood were rushing and roaring over the jagged, rocky terrain. The sky was now blackening. Very abruptly, Deidara stopped flying and began to fall. He opened his mouth to scream and tried to thrash around, but he was completely frozen. He dropped helplessly in free-fall from the sky and landed hard in the muddy puddles, blood and dirt splashing everywhere at the impact._

_ Deidara groaned in pain when he felt as if every single bone in his body had been broken. Bloody rain continued to fall from the ominous sky, and it was hard to see more than ten yards ahead. The reek of blood was so overwhelming, Deidara wanted to throw up. In a vain attempt to avoid the precipitation, the clay artist turned his head to the side, and this time he really did scream._

_ He was face-to-face with none other than Sasori of the Red Sand, merely a palm width away. But to his horror, there were a dozen rusty spears protruding out of his belly and his left eye had been gouged out, as if some rabid beast had attacked it. His entire form was drenched in the blood rain, and the remaining, glassy eye stared back at the clay artist eerily._

_ Deidara flipped over onto his stomach and retched. _

~*o*~

With a gasp, blue eyes opened and Deidara found himself staring up at a crumbling ceiling, glowing dimly from the moonlight that was shining through the small window. He was breathing loud and harshly, and he could feel the cold sweat clinging to his face and shirt. Remembering the dream and the hellish crimson rain, he immediately scrambled up and checked his body to make sure it wasn't sodding wet with blood.

With a deep breath, the clay artist dared to peek over to his right. To his immense relief, he didn't see any dead corpses and Sasori was safely curled up in the futon, breathing and alive. To be extra sure, Deidara reached out and gently rolled the sleeping form over so that it was facing him. He sighed, relaxing when he saw that the redhead hadn't been impaled on any spears and his eyes were still intact and closed.

Feeling somewhat foolish but unable to fall back asleep, Deidara grabbed an extra towel and crept into the bathroom. There, he took his sweet time in the hot shower, half the time just standing under the streaming water and staring blankly at the tiled wall. He only stepped out when his skin felt like it was about to peel right off from the scalding temperature of the water.

When he returned, the first thing he saw was that Sasori had somehow rolled completely off the futon and was now shivering on the bamboo floor with his pillow stuck between his legs. Deidara snorted, throwing the wet towel into the corner of a room. He looked at the cozy-looking, empty futon longingly (he could barely remember the last time he slept in a proper bed), and wondered for a while if he should just steal it. After all, it was only— he squinted at the clock— 3:21 am. Just for a bit...

Deidara crept closer to the bundle of blankets until he was directly on top of it and lay down with a blissful smile, relishing the comfort of soft, cushioned bedding instead of the hard, cold bamboo lining. Now that he was more comfortable, the blonde's thoughts eventually drifted over to his dream. As disturbing as it was, he couldn't shake off the horrible feeling of dread every time he pictured the dead corpse of the redhead sprawled precariously over the bloody terrain. He wasn't superstitious. He didn't believe in those stupid myths talking about prophecies or dreams that hint the future. Dreams were just dreams, made up by one's own twisted imagination using the images or events they had recently seen or experienced.

But why? His eyes were kept closed, yet his brow still creased. Why the particular scene? He hadn't been in a serious battle for quite a while and he most certainly did not see a Sasori dying in front of him before. He couldn't remember the last time he saw anyone get killed by spears, either. Almost all the dead bodies he'd encountered during his entire life were either blown up or taken down by kunai, senbon needles, or the occasional katana sword. He'd barely ever seen anyone wield a battle spear in all the fights he had been in. Once again, he recalled the memory of the rather terrifying moment of seeing his partner lying dead next to him. If, in the case of _if, _Sasori did die, would the Leader kick Deidara out for not being 'responsible' for his own partner? Or would he simply just shake his head in disapproval, and soon find him another partner to work with?

The clay artist sighed in frustration. He now remembered why he had strictly disbelieved in those stupid theories about dreams coming true. It only succeeded in worsening his headache; _dreams are just dreams_, he reminded himself once more for good measure. He stretched and threw his arms out on either side of himself, only to freeze and his heart to skip a beat. His arm had landed on something… something alive! Heart racing, he whipped his head around and opened his eyes.

Deidara felt his blood run cold as he found himself face-to-face with a familiar pale, rounded face framed with flaming red hair with wide, brown eyes that stared intently into his own. Images from his dream flashed into his brain once more and for three whole seconds, he could only stare in absolute terror as his body seemed to turn to ice. And then—

"AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH !"

Poor Sasori looked absolutely clueless as he watched bemusedly while Deidara seemed to go through a series of heart attacks, while he tried to fight himself to keep calm at the same time. He took several huge gulps of breaths, counting backwards from ten. By the time he was able to function like a normal person, the redhead was still giving him the almost bored stare as he lay on his side on the edge of the futon.

"...Uh, how's it going, un?" Deidara asked weakly when no one spoke, and mentally kicked himself right afterwards. _It's the middle of the night, you dumbass! _

"Move," Sasori commanded, his voice void of all sleepiness.

"What?" asked Deidara stupidly, his brain deciding to shut down. His heartbeat slowly returned to its regular pace.

"You're in my spot."

Oh. "Technically it's not _your _spot, un," Deidara said casually, shrugging, stalling for time so he could stay on the futon longer. "I was just being nice enough to let you take it when—"

"Do you want to move on your own, or do I have to make you?" Sasori cut in, sounding less and less patient by the second.

"You don't have to do anything, un. You can stay there for a minute and I'll just enjoy myself for the time being..."

"Deidara." So no 'brat' now, huh? "I don't know what made you suddenly grow guts, but if you think you can talk back to me like that then you're terribly mistaken, and you'll be very sorry you did. I will make sure of it. Now listen to me."_ Why that little… _

"Look, Sasori," Deidara snapped back, not bothering to hide the irritation in his voice. "I know you like to act all high and mighty, but do you really think you can beat me when you're like this, un? You don't even have your scrolls to summon your puppets. You barely know how to take care of yourself without me running all over the place for you, un! Now how about thinking twice before you go and start spewing mindless threats to the only guy who's helping you in this state, and start showing some respect, huh?"

Deidara braced himself for a neck throttle or a few knives thrown at his way, but strangely nothing came. He blinked in confusion, and looked down to see what the matter was with the redhead who would've been jumping up and down all over the place by now with rage. What he saw however, was not what he had expected at all, and his mouth fell open a little at the sight.

Sasori was no longer looking at the blonde, and had a fist clenched around the blankets of the futon, ever so like a baby holding onto his favorite toy. His eyes were downcast and almost sad, with a look of defeat mixed in as well.

Crap... "Danna, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Deidara stumbled hastily, at a loss for words. "I didn't actually expect you to take it so seriously—"

"Do I really look that weak to you?" Sasori said quietly. "When I'm like this?"

Deidara stared at him for a minute, and let out a long, stressful sigh. "_Yes_," he admitted truthfully, seeing no point in lying. "You… are almost like a kid, un." There, he said it.

Sasori blinked slowly, no one ever having dared to say that to him before. "Kid?" he repeated, as if tasting the word on his tongue. Suddenly, a murderous look washed over his demeanor. "...'brat'?"

"Not a brat, un," Deidara said, making Sasori blink once more in surprise. "Just a kid."

"You're wrong," Sasori whispered, burying his face into the edge of the blankets.

"Sure, un," Deidara shot back with no malice.

"Shut up, you brat," Sasori muttered, his voice muffled in the futon.

"That's right, un," laughed Deidara. "I'm the brat. Forget I said anything, un." He didn't have to tell him twice. The redhead had already seemed to have fallen asleep.

Deidara sighed in defeat, and dragged Sasori on top of the futon, and threw the covers over him. He glanced at the clock again. 4:13 am. Might as well prepare his clay and get ready to leave, he thought. He began to silently tidy up the motel room in the dark, and make sure that all of their belongings were packed away in their bags. He sat with his clay spread out over the floor for a good half an hour, kneading chakra into the matter. When every single ounce of clay was ready to create his masterpieces, he stuffed them into their pouches and washed up in the bathroom. When he returned to the room it was a quarter to five. Stifling a yawn, he guessed he could just close his eyes for a tiny bit against the wall, just until it was time to go. Feeling too weary to rationalize with himself, he felt his eyelids droop almost immediately...

~*o*~

"Brat..."

Deidara grunted, batting away whatever it was that was poking him rather hard in the ribs.

"Deidara." Another poke. "Wake up."

Groaning, the clay artist rolled over, only to hit something hard and wooden. He felt around sleepily; it was the cabinet. "Go away, un," he moaned at the inanimate object.

"Wake _up!" _Deidara felt himself get shoved hard in the shoulder, and his joints made a nasty cracking sound at the impact. Feeling his drowsiness vanishing instantly at that moment, the clay artist shot up from his position, cursing loudly and rubbing his sore spot.

"Took you long enough," huffed Sasori, glaring at him. "It's almost seven and we're late. Hurry up and meet me downstairs."

"What!?" Deidara's eyes stretched wide; he looked at the clock and it was indeed ten to seven in the morning. "Crap, un!" He scrambled up and dived for the bathroom; he brushed his teeth and washed his face faster than he had ever done before and was ready to go in a new record of three minutes. When he left the motel, Sasori was already waiting for him at the entrance with their bags and looking like the unhappiest camper in the entire galaxy.

"You could have woken me up sooner, un," Deidara complained once he reached his partner, hastily slipping his cloak over his shoulders.

"Or you could've been more..." Sasori trailed off, realizing that he really wasn't in the position to say anything. Deidara smirked widely, sensing the redhead's frustration. "Never mind, brat. How fast can you take us to the Land of Wind?"

"We'll reach the border by sundown if we go at top speed, un," Deidara said after a few seconds of mental calculations.

"Fine." Sasori shoved Deidara's bag into the blonde's arms. "We're going now."

After paying the front desk for their extra nights of stay, the two Akatsuki members took out onto the streets and headed straight for the exit. Once they passed the sign that said in bold, peeling letters, 'Thank you for visiting!', they veered off the road and well into the forest on the left, concealing themselves well before they made any move to take off. Deidara molded a clay bird in his hand and blew up its size, before climbing on its back and motioning Sasori to do the same. They rose high up into the morning sky, and using his eye scope, the blonde quickly maneuvered themselves to face west and urged their mount onwards. He wasn't entirely sure, but he thought that the redhead looked a little green in the face once they started moving and smirked. There was another thing he could tease about.

They flew on for hours, and when Deidara tore his gaze away from the distances ahead, trying to decipher the best routes to take to stay concealed as possible, the sun was almost at its peak. Deciding to take a small break from his lookout, he sat down cross-legged facing Sasori behind him, who still wasn't looking like he was enjoying himself.

"It's not that bad, un, once you get used to it," Deidara said, grinning when he earned a vicious glare from the redhead. "As long as you don't look down, un," he added jokingly. Sasori merely sighed.

"You know," Deidara spoke again after a several minutes of silence except for the breeze whistling in his ears. "Sometimes I wonder what this Orochimaru guy was like before he left Akatsuki, un."

"Why?" Sasori asked lowly, his eyes narrowing.

Deidara knew that this had always been a touchy subject for the Akatsuki members, especially Itachi. Whenever the clay artist rarely brought it up in his vicinity, the Uchiha would look at him with an enigmatic look in his eyes before getting up to leave. He'd heard the simplified version of the story, but he couldn't help but nose around. "Well, he was your partner before, wasn't he?"

"He's a traitor," Sasori said simply. "He attacked one of our members and left when he failed to defeat them. He's a dangerous individual, and a threat to this organization."

"Yeah, but you must've worked with him a lot, un," Deidara pressed on. "Didn't you get to know each other? Wouldn't that mean you'd know how his mind works? Can't you guess his actions and do something about it?"

"I know about him just as much as you do," Sasori snapped. "We worked well together when we were partnered, yes. But that doesn't mean I know everything that goes on in his mind. If I did, _you_ wouldn't be here right now, brat." It was obvious that that was all he had to say about this matter.

"What does that supposed to mean, un?" Deidara asked annoyingly, feeling irked by that last sentence for some reason. "For one thing, you're the ones who practically dragged me into this whole Akatsuki business, un. I never wanted to join, damn it! But you forced me to because I had potential, right? Otherwise you wouldn't have gone looking for an unwilling person to partner yourself with, un. But you're saying as if I'm just here because you can't chase me out!"

"Look, you selfish brat, I never partnered with you because I wanted to," Sasori growled, his eyes mere slits. "You only think about yourself, don't you? I was ordered by Pain to collect you, because _he _thought you had potential. I don't know what went through his head at the time—"

"So you'd much rather choose that creep Orochimaru as a partner than me, is that it?" Deidara felt himself get angrier and angrier at the notion of someone like that snake bastard being stronger, _better_ than him. "Because he's just so much better at everything than me, right? And I bet you don't even argue with each other, un! And you both think that you're the best things in this whole world; what a perfect match! Right, _Danna?"_

"Deidara—"

"You know what pisses me off, un?" Deidara continued heatedly. "People who don't understand the true beauty and meaning of my art piss me off. But you know what completely blows my top off? People like _you, _who assume that I'm _weaker_ than vile, slimy creatures like that snake bastard Orochimaru. Do you have any idea how humiliating that is, un!?"

"Brat, shut up and listen to me!" Sasori shouted, which was a rare occurrence since the redhead never raised his voice in an argument. "You need to calm down. Think about it for a second! Did I _ever_ say that you were weaker than Orochimaru? Perhaps you misunderstood what I was saying but I—" Sasori stopped and winced, his face scrunched up as he took a deep breath. "Look, Deidara, not many people at that age can possess your ability and analytical skills of that level. I admit, you have as much potential as any other Akatsuki member in this organization. But you've got to stop letting your temper get to your head before doing anything. If you keep being so reckless, one day not even your so-called art will be able to save you. Understand?"

"Stop making excuses, un! You don't actually mean what you say, you're just trying to get out of this conversation by—"

"Deidara, I _do _mean everything that I say and _you know it!" _barked Sasori, putting on his ultimate glare. "This conversation is over!"

"...Whatever, un," Deidara snapped back, but his anger lessened somewhat upon hearing Sasori acknowledging his power. The puppet master didn't seem all too happy about it, but it was enough for Deidara right now. After all, they were both too prideful. _Damn pride..._

Feeling a little awkward after yelling at his partner like that, Deidara cleared his throat and turned back around, muttering about snakes and power. They didn't talk to each other for a very long time.

~*o*~

By the time noon had passed and the sun began to dip down towards the horizon, Deidara was tired and bored. They'd been flying all day, and he'd been looking at nothing but trees, trees, and more trees for almost seven straight hours now. His stomach growled to remind him that he hadn't eaten anything since last night, and his face was getting numb from all the exposure to the constant wind slapping at his skin. The more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he got about his little tantrum he'd thrown at his partner before; the redhead was right, he really needed to stop letting his temper take over. Besides, who cared if he thought that the blonde was weaker than Orochimaru anyway? He'd just have to teach the puppet master a lesson when they found the bastard in the Land of Wind. _Think, Deidara, _he kept scolding himself. _Think. _

The clay artist heard rustling behind him, and soon the scraping noise of a lid being unscrewed reached his ears as Sasori took a sip from his water flask for the millionth time today. Thanks to that, Deidara had to stop the bird twice for him because he "really needed to go". At first, the blonde had guessed it was because he was trying to fill his empty belly with something so that he'd feel better, but now it was starting to border on the edge of bizarre. He'd tried to explain that they needed to save their water for the desert, but his words were ignored. But now, he couldn't just sit there while Sasori was gulping water like a fish.

"I think that's quite enough, un," Deidara said, watching as Sasori tilted the flask again. "You already drank more than half of it."

"I'm thirsty," Sasori replied, with the same sentence he always used when he was asked before.

"How can anyone still be that thirsty when they drank so much, un?" Deidara asked incredulously. "It's a pretty big flask, you know!"

Sasori didn't answer. He only stared down at the clay surface for a few seconds, before putting away the water in his bag. Rolling his eyes, Deidara turned back around to face the front. His partner could be so weird at times.

"Brat."

"What now, un?" said the clay artist, annoyed. He didn't bother turning around.

"I'm just curious," Sasori began almost hesitantly. Now _this _made the blonde turn in confusion. The puppet master was never hesitant in getting his point across. "Since I'm not used to being human and all… well—"

"You are making no sense, un," Deidara said slowly, raising an eyebrow.

"Back when we fought Orochimaru," Sasori blurted out, not quite meeting the blonde's curious eye. "How much did you get hurt?"

Now this was just getting plain scary. "And why do _you _care if I got hurt or not, Danna?" Deidara asked, genuinely astonished.

"Just answer the question!" Sasori snapped, a faint pink tinge appearing on his pale cheeks.

"Er... well, I did sort of get caught up in the blast from my bombs near the end..." The blonde scratched his head. "And I got tossed around a bit when I went against Orochimaru. But _why—"_

"How long did the pain last?" Sasori finally looked up to meet the blue gaze.

"Not long, un," shrugged Deidara in a casual manner. "It went away after a few hours, I guess. I woke up and I felt alright. I wasn't seriously hurt or anything, un." He was still puzzled as to where this was going. Suddenly, a creeping suspicion dawned upon him. "Danna... are you hurting somewhere, un?"

"No," Sasori spat, albeit a little too quickly, which made Deidara even more suspicious. "I was just cur—"

"Trust me, Danna. When I say I know you, un. And the Sasori I know doesn't go asking people random questions just because he's _curious._" Deidara crawled over so that he was sitting closer to the redhead. "Now, where does it hurt?"

"I am _not _hurting," Sasori deadpanned, his eyes bright. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like some of my space back."

"Damn it, un!" Deidara almost yelled, pulling at his hair in frustration. "Did I or did I not tell you to tell me if there's even the slightest thing wrong with you? Why must you keep on being a stuck up asshole, un!? And don't even think about lying!" He pointed an accusing finger when the redhead opened his mouth to argue. "You have no idea how obvious you're making this, un."

"The only thing I have no idea about is what you are saying." The puppet master straightened up and stared right at the clay artist. "You should stop being so paranoid."

"Fine then," Deidara retorted irritably. "You can suddenly keel over dead and I'll be on my merry way not giving a crap, un." Without warning, he shot out a hand and shoved the redhead hard in the chest. "You sure that place isn't bothering you anymore, un?"

At the sudden, unexpected contact, Sasori almost lost balance and toppled over. But at that same moment, the redhead let out a sudden "ah!" and clutched the abused spot as if his life depended on it.

"Come on, un! It couldn't have been that bad," Deidara said scornfully. "Don't tell me you've become a b..." He slowly trailed off when he saw his partner bending over, fist clenched over his chest and biting his lip so hard that a trickle of blood ran down his chin. "Er— Danna?" he began somewhat shakily. "Are you okay, un...?" He only got another painful cry that ripped from the redhead's throat.

"Fuck," Deidara muttered under his breath, his mind going blank. They were suspended high up in the air on a clay bird, with barely any supplies. Without thinking, he grabbed the water flask out of Sasori's bag and unscrewed the lid before holding it out to his lips. "Here, un—" Deidara had to grab a handful of Sasori's hair and secure his head in place so he wouldn't thrash around. "Drink..." He managed to pour a bit of water down the redhead's throat, although most of it went dribbling down his chin. After about a couple minutes and sips of water, he gradually began to calm down, until finally he was able to sit on his own, his lungs gulping for air greedily. Small beads of sweat clung to the pale forehead and his red hair stuck to the sides of his face.

"Don't— _ever— _do that again," Sasori wheezed, rubbing fiercely at his chest. "Fucking _hell—"_

"Will you tell me what the _fuck _just happened, un?" demanded the blonde angrily, not caring if he sounded like Hidan. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Ugh..."

...

So that was how he was finally able to pry the truth out from the stubborn puppet master. According to him, he'd been feeling a burning sensation as if someone was squeezing his lungs and burning his flesh at the same time. At first, it had merely been a tiny prickle, but as time passed it slowly grew and spread out from a small spot in the middle of his chest to the bottom of his throat. That had explained Sasori's sudden, extreme thirst. Sometimes, the pain would suddenly escalate without warning like a stab to the heart, and then it would go away as if nothing happened. When Sasori had finished explaining, Deidara was almost in despair. First they had let Orochimaru escape from their grasps, then they were stuck with the whole problem with the Leader and his summons, and now his partner was dying. How could it get any worse?

Life had just answered it for him. As if on cue, he felt the ring on his right index finger vibrate gently as it grew unusually warm.

Pain had truly impeccable timing.

* * *

**So... sorry if there were any OOC moments that were just too out of place for you; I tried to make them fit as smoothly as I could with the whole story, but I'm sure there are a few moments where it's just like "Hmm, I don't think Sasori/Deidara would act like/say that even in that situation..." Hopefully it doesn't get in the way _too _much. ^^;**

**Like? Love? Hate? Please tell me what you think; your reviews will be greatly appreciated! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Okay...whew. So I understand that I have many things I wish I say to you all, as well as the fact that my readers all surely have stuff to say to _me _as well. But first of all, I will not make any excuses to attempt to defend myself because, obviously, I am in no position to do such a thing. Although I have to admit, I had announced my updating schedule at a really bad timing. Things just came up and... oh look at me, already trying to make excuses. One thing however is that in no way was this intentional and I truly get on my knees and beg for everyone's forgiveness and here, I have eggs and paintballs for you to throw at me. Only one one condition; _after _you read this chapter, okay? :) I even made it longer. And there are no cliffhangers for everyone's sake. I'm so sorry, everyone. So please forget your anger towards the horrible author for just a moment and enjoy!**

* * *

That was it, then. Deidara knew that no matter how surreptitious he tried to be at that moment, it was already too late. Sasori had instantly caught the blonde's abrupt halt in all motion and no doubt his face was probably reflecting his inner turmoil like a clear stream on a sunny day. He suddenly found himself trying to go over several possible excuses he could use at once, successfully jumbling up all conceivable thoughts that tried to make themselves known to the clay artist. A quick glance at the redhead's hands told Deidara that Sasori wasn't wearing his ring, but anyone would know that the puppet master's mind was whirling with various suspicions that were probably all very close to the truth.

"What is it?" Sasori asked innocently, yet his hard haze begged to differ.

"Nothing," Deidara answered right away, then wanted to face palm himself right then and there. _Of course there's _something _going on, you dumbass! _"I mean, nothing that we should really worry about, un." _You're hilarious, Deidara. _

Apparently Sasori was thinking along the same lines. A thin eyebrow arched meaningfully at him. Deidara swore in his mind. The ring was beginning to grow uncomfortably hot.

"Deidara," Sasori spoke in a warning voice.

"Yeah, un?" he said, putting on the most fakest smile he'd ever made in his entire life.

"Go."

"I don't know what you're talking about, un." The ring was now scorching his poor finger, and the skin surrounding it was turning an angry shade of red.

Sasori sighed and reached into his bag, and soon fished out his own Akatsuki ring, which seemed to pulse under his very touch. He slipped it on his left thumb and formed the seal, ready to answer the summon any second now. "Go before he asks why we're late," he said quietly, and then closed his eyes.

With a groan of frustration, Deidara copied Sasori and followed suit. At once, he felt his chakra being pulled away elsewhere through a timeless void, until he felt his consciousness returning all at once, only this time, he was standing on top of a familiar, giant statue in a dim, dreary cave. He blinked and looked around, and swallowed when he saw the hologram of the Leader, along with Sasori; pretty soon, more projections flickered on and a few moments later the entire Akatsuki was gathered atop the fingers of the Gedo Mazo. _Wonderful, _Deidara thought bitterly. And to think that telling only one person what happened would be bad... He could already feel the tension building up.

"Sasori, Deidara." Pain wasted no time in greetings or giving an opening statement as to why they were summoned, as he usually did. This usually meant that something urgent had come up, or he was just hungry for answers. The clay artist knew it was the latter. "I assume you haven't forgotten your mission?"

"Of course not, un," Deidara said immediately, and he could almost feel Pain's eyebrow rise. "We did as you asked."

"I didn't ask, Deidara, I ordered," Pain retorted smoothly. He had yet to give off any signs of anger or accusations, but the blonde could feel them coming. "Well? How did it go?" He sounded almost as if he didn't care if it went badly or not.

"We... set out for the borders and searched thoroughly, like you _ordered, _un," Deidara began somewhat hesitantly. "He was there. A little way off from the exact place you sent us, but still there, un."

"Did you engage in battle?" Pain asked, almost challengingly.

"He attacked us first," Sasori said suddenly before Deidara could open his mouth to formulate a reply. Despite Pain's insinuations, his demeanor remained calm and composed. "We tried to avoid actual combat and demanded his objective. He told us that he was here to collect data for his researches, be he had two other men with him. They threatened us and we had no choice."

"I see. You did well, seeing as there was no other way." Deidara inwardly sighed with relief, yet he knew why the Leader was rushing things. He had yet to come to the main point, after all. "However..." Pain's eyes narrowed. "What I don't understand is why you did not head immediately to the base after the fight to report back on what happened."

Deidara tensed all over again; there it was. He gulped, trying to wet his parched throat. How would Pain react to this? So unpredictable was the Leader, that he honestly had no clue. Not wanting to show his anxiety, he cleared his throat and mentally steeled himself. "Er... well, you see, un," he began uncomfortably. "There was a bit of an accident, and we had to take cover for—"

"'Accident'?" A few yards across the statue, the loud, obnoxious voice of Hidan interrupted the Deidara's chain of thoughts. "Stop shitting us, blondie! I think you were just trying to slack off while everyone else does all the dirty work. Isn't that why you took so long to answer the summon?"

Pain raised his hand for silence, and then turned back to Deidara, who couldn't help but grow restless under the piercing gaze and undivided attention of almost all the Akatsuki members. "I refuse to believe two of my hardworking members of Akatsuki would do such a thing." This didn't help the clay artist relax one bit. "Although I have to admit, I _am_ curious as to why you were so reluctant to return to the base."

Deidara looked to Sasori almost pleadingly, but to his dismay the redhead didn't even seem to be listening anymore. Even his eyes were closed and he remained impassive to the voices echoing all around him. It was now or suffer a greater consequence... "I'm waiting, Deidara," Pain said warningly.

"The accident, it..." Deidara blurted out. "Things sort of happened, and— Danna lost his puppet body." He quickly spat out the rest of the sentence in a rush he even forgot he had a speech impediment. At once, he felt a huge weight lift off his chest, but at the same time feel another, greater stone of dread settle into his stomach.

There was a suffocating pause that coursed throughout the mute cave. Deidara's mind went white and he felt glued to the spot as he almost heard everyone's mind gears reel and clank in their brains, processing what had just been said. And then—

"_What?" _The disbelieving voice of the Jashinist barked out, successfully shattering the palpable silence. "Hold on for one minute. So you're saying that puppet boy is now a real boy? That's fuckin' hilarious!" He whooped with laughter. "Oi, Kakuzu! Did you hear that? Blondie's doll got his dick back!"

"Shut up, Hidan," Deidara snarled, feeling his hands tremble with anger. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to—"

"Yeah sure, I bet it's _real _hard!" Hidan yelled, his cruel, shrieking laugh reverberating throughout the dank walls. "If you catch my mean—"

"Hidan." Kakuzu's deep, menacing growl managed to be heard over the Jashinist's insanity. "Shut your face hole."

"Fuck you too, shitbag," sneered Hidan, but otherwise miraculously did as told. Kakuzu's voice truly possessed a remarkable gift.

"That is enough." Pain cast a warning look to the pair for good measure and turned back to Deidara, and Sasori who still miraculously managed to remain unresponsive throughout the entire thing. "One of you, explain to me this instant." He seemed satisfied at the truthful answer however, and now appeared to be slightly relaxed.

Seeing as Sasori had somehow turned mute in the past ten minutes or so, the spotlight shone towards the clay artist once again. "I don't know, un, alright?" he said loudly, anger and exasperation finally taking its toll. He just wanted to get over with this entire thing and sleep his grief away. "Orochimaru had some sort of potion that was supposed to lead him to his new secret for immortality or some crap, un. But then it exploded all over Danna, and he just suddenly turned human, un!"

"Man, that's fucking tragic, isn't it?" Hidan's leering voice drawled, sounding mockingly bored. "I feel so bad for you, Deidara-chan. Say, does the little bastard know how to jack off?" He let out a snort. "Or wait, did you have to show him!?" He burst out laughing again, the sound threatening to burst the blonde's eardrums any second.

"You— you piece of—" Deidara's almost went blind with rage. "_I'll fucking blow you up to a million pieces and kill you in the most sadistic way possible, un!"_

Hidan continued to snigger and snort, a shit-eating grin plastered onto his hologram's face. "Good fuckin' luck with that, little girl."

Right when Deidara was about to lunge at the Jashinist to blast his transparent face into smithereens, Pain let out a sharp command of, "_Silence!" _and everything plunged into instant muteness once more, with the exception of the blonde's thundering heart as he seethed silently with undying flames of anger. Sensing the disarray of the atmosphere, Pain continued to speak in a calm and methodical manner, although one could hear a slight wave of bewilderment in his voice that quickly vanished like the wind. "Sasori and Deidara, what are you planning to do about this situation?"

Once again the clay artist spoke for the both of them. He was beginning to grow tired of doing all the hard work, but the last thing he wanted to do right now was to look at Sasori's face. "We're trying to figure out what happened, and we..." he paused, wondering if he should really say this, but pushed the thought away and went on, "we're on our way to look for Orochimaru so we can put things back the way it was; by force or not, un."

As expected, Pain did not answer right away. To the blonde's relief, Hidan didn't say anything else and thankfully stayed silent. Deidara watched the flickering hologram of the Leader's apprehensively with baited breath, waiting for the final decision to be made. To be truly honest, Deidara secretly despised the fact that someone else had this much power over him. Now he barely minded it, but sometimes he'd still be occasionally reminded of this disconcerting truth and it was currently driving him crazy. Why did he have to join this cursed organization? Oh wait, he didn't join; he was forced to, he thought grimly. He hated how fast he had adapted to the new environment. Thankfully Pain was never too demanding or watchful, but he obviously didn't want people relaxing too much around him, either.

Finally, after what seemed like an age, he relented. "Very well," he began slowly. "You may go after Orochimaru in what ways you find most appropriate. On the other hand, you must be discreet at all times, and do not risk revealing yourselves too much. When you find him, try and see if you can get any knowledge he has of us. Although, remember that that will not be your first priority anymore and so you will concentrate on your main objective before anything else.

"As for Sasori, I will allow the two of you to take whatever action necessary to retrieve his body back. However, anything unfortunate that happens to you or him will be the consequences of your own impetuosity and therefore not my problem, and the other must take full responsibility for it. Also, I will not aid you because of a mishap caused from either of your mistakes. If one of you dies, the remaining member will report back to me immediately and I will look for another potential individual to fill the space as needed. Understood?"

"Yes, un," muttered Deidara with gritted teeth, torn between relief and anger.

"Good." Pain didn't bother to squeeze an answer out of Sasori. "Also, I wish to see Hidan and Kakuzu separately. I will summon the two of you later throughout the day. Dismissed."

With those words, the meeting was over just as quickly as it started, and the connection was lost. Deidara felt his chakra being whizzed back to its origin and half a second later he opened his eyes to find himself sitting stiffly in the same position on the clay bird as he had left off.

All at once, exhaustion rushed to the top of his head and he had to steady himself before he toppled over. He groaned and massaged his temples; he felt as though he had just raced across the Fire Country without stopping. The last part of Pain's lecture bugged him to no end, but what else had he expected? This wasn't daycare. They'd just have to make extra sure that they didn't screw up. He glanced up at the redhead and swallowed. Sasori looked haggard in every way, his eyes having lost the light it had only recently before. Deidara knew that he was seeing more and more sides of Sasori that he'd never seen or would've imagined to see in the puppet master, and it ate away at his insides constantly. It felt so wrong to have him like this, too tired and defeated to come up with a stinging reply, whereas any other day he'd already have Hidan's limbs hanging on the wall as a clear reminder to anyone who dared to speak about him like that. This wasn't the Sasori he knew. He wouldn't just give up like this. No, hopefully this was just temporary.

"Sasori no Danna," he tried, regarding the redhead in a careful manner. "You heard Pain, right? We can go after Orochimaru freely now, un." Anything to get him speaking, to make sure he wasn't dead inside.

The clay artist's voice seemed to interrupt Sasori out of his reverie, and he glanced up at the blonde almost irritably with his dull, brown eyes. As the seconds passed, Deidara felt that the redhead was proving to be every bit as un-Sasori-like as he had feared.

"I know." He turned away and looked out into the darkening sky. "Go."

Deidara didn't like the redhead's tone of voice. "You know, if it's about what Hidan said, don't pay attention to him, un," he said, supressing his own bubbling anger at the arrogant Jashinist. "He's just a sick bastard, un."

"I know what he is, Deidara," Sasori said, sounding weary. "Stop acting like you know everything."

"What? I— _Danna_, un!" the blonde said incredulously. "It's just _Hidan! _Since when did you start taking everything he says so personally, un? And what do you mean, 'acting'? Don't I already know everything that there needs to be known?"

"How can you possibly know?" Sasori asked blankly, his eyes gazing at something far away that only he could see. "How can you, someone who appreciates nothing but your own self and petty explosions, possibly understand the things I'm going through right now?"

In disbelief, Deidara opened his mouth, but closed it when he realized he had nothing better to say. Sasori let out a long, wearisome sigh that hinted at his inner turmoil. "Just go, you brat."

The clay artist had no choice but to comply, as he was at a loss for words.

~*o*~

When the first signs of the yellowish soil began to appear, none of them made a sign to acknowledge it. Not even when they approached a border and Deidara carefully maneuvered the clay bird over it without arousing any suspicion did they speak. The few times the blonde turned around to make sure Sasori didn't die or anything, he found the redhead in the exact same position he had been in when thy continued the journey and the same, faraway look was forever plastered onto his pale face that was now glowing under the moonlight. The last conversation they had had left them miserable and heavy hearted. As the silence dragged on, and the blonde became more and more exhausted, he decided to stop and spend the night concealed under some trees before they crossed completely over to the desert. Carefully, he circled around and spotted a decent clump of foliage growing near a collection of jagged rocks that would shield them from most eyes. He carefully landed, and slipped off the mount's back and observed their campsite.

Thankfully they were still in the midst of entering the desert so it wasn't absolutely dry. The sandy dirt would provide softer bedding but there were no signs of water anywhere. Deidara knew that he had to save his water for the trip tomorrow, since Sasori had already emptied half of his own flask. Deidara glanced over to said person, and was surprised to see that he'd gotten off the clay bird on his own and was even looking around his surroundings with little interest. At least he's still alive enough to think for himself, Deidara thought bitterly. He shrank the clay bird and stuffed it into his pocket before turning to his partner. "We're going to spend the night here, un," he announced, even though it couldn't have been more obvious. Because right now, Deidara felt that if he didn't explain everything to the redhead, he'd have no idea what's going on. "We need to start saving our water because we won't have enough for tomorrow. I'll take first watch and I'll wake you up later, okay, un?"

Sasori nodded vaguely, which didn't assure the clay artist that he heard anything.

Also, Deidara was beginning to grow sick and tired of the redhead's apparent withdrawal to everything. So much that he stomped up to his partner and shook him by the shoulders violently. "Stop sulking and pull yourself together already, un!" he snapped. "Are you just going to curl up and die because Hidan said a few words? Honestly, I thought you were better than this!" Sasori didn't answer and only avoided his eyes. "Look at me, Danna!" Reluctantly, the redhead brought his eyes up to lock with the blue orb. "I know you're all devastated and all because you lost your lifetime's work, un. But this is kind of pathetic, don't you think? Just because someone took it away from you, does it mean you can just collapse and cry like a child, until someone comes along to hug you and give it back? Honestly; and yet you still expect me to treat you like an adult, un! I had no idea, Danna, but you're terrible at dealing with situations like this. _What _can I do to make you realize that?"

"I can deal with it," Sasori argued obstinately, but with much less vigor. "I'm not a kid—"

"Then prove to me otherwise, damn it!" Deidara let go of Sasori's shoulders, but continued to hold their gazes locked within each other. "If any other Akatsuki member saw you like this, then they'd immediately take it as a sign of weakness and they'd never let you live it down, Danna. If it was an enemy then you'd be dead already, un. If it wasn't for me—"

"So now you want my gratitude," Sasori said with a half-hearted sneer. "Because you saved my life? Stop dreaming. You're here on your own accord."

"Are you serious, Danna? I couldn't just leave after what happened, un!"

"I'm not thankful at all," Sasori continued, regarding him with a frigid stare. "Why would I be? I never asked for you to do this."

No matter how many times Deidara wanted to scoff and turn away for the sake of his own dignity, he could not deny the fact that those words hurt, and they did far more than anything else that had been said to him. Perhaps it had been foolish on his part to think that the redhead had somehow opened up to him a little after all the things they've been through together, but obviously that wasn't the case. Had his partner always been this cruel? He couldn't remember. Before he had never really paid attention to Sasori's actions towards the blonde, but in this sensitive situation Deidara couldn't help but long for comfort from something other than his own wretched consciousness. He forced a smile onto his face, and laughed bitterly.

"Of course you didn't, un," he said. "But I'm staying whether you want me here or not, so deal with it, or don't, un. Just don't cause too much trouble for me."

Without waiting for a reply, Deidara trudged over to a secluded spot in between two large rocks and settled down on the ground, leaning against his bag for little comfort. He didn't check to see if Sasori found a good place to turn in for the night.

Although there was really no reason to keep watch, as they were in a secluded area in the corner of the Wind Country border that no one cared about, Deidara found himself gazing up at the night sky, absentmindedly counting the stars to pass the time. He drifted in and out of sleep, feeling his stomach churn queasily from hunger. He paid no attention to it however, as his mind was thoroughly exhausted and worn out, yet his body remained restless.

He'd never known a time when he'd been this conflicted before. He'd never had to deal with more than two or three emotions at once, and being a complete stranger to the foreign feeling, it didn't help cease the headaches that he'd been having much more often lately. Nevertheless, he had yet to break down completely despite the prodigious amounts of voices whirling inside his brain and that he took some pride in. At least he didn't bury his soul in grief like a certain redhead, he told himself grimly.

As he lingered on that thought however, a new realization popped up inside the great hurricane of inquiries. Although Deidara had admonished the puppet master's ways of dealing with his problems, he had never actually thought about it in his partner's perspective before. He'd been too busy chewing his nails over the overly uncharacteristic guy. Deidara frowned, as he noticed the small flaw in his seemingly well-formulated lectures he'd been giving.

What would it be like to put himself in Sasori's shoes?

Deidara knew that he treasured his artful explosions dearly, and the ability to create said explosions. But what if one day, a vile, creepy-looking snake bastard like Orochimaru came along and took that ability away from him without warning? Whether it was on purpose or not, Deidara came to the conclusion that, to put it delicately, he'd be pretty fucking pissed. And so he asked himself what he would do next. The answer was obvious; chase down Orochimaru to the ends of this universe to get it back.

The clay artist sighed and smacked his head into the rock behind him. He accidentally hit it too hard and he felt a lump beginning to issue from his scalp, but he ignored it. He'd been too selfish the entire time to understand exactly what Sasori must be going through. He recalled the redhead's biting words from earlier on:

_"How can you, someone who appreciates nothing but your own self and petty explosions, possibly understand the things I'm going through right now?"_

Once again, his stupid partner was right. Deidara was frustrated at how Sasori seemed to know him so well, when despite the years of working with the redhead, the clay artist found him as readable as a brick wall. But whatever he discovered now was too late. At the moment, he'd just have to concentrate on getting to Orochimaru and make sure Sasori doesn't kill himself in the process, no big deal. Deidara did not sign up for this.

Or perhaps in a way, he had.

Whatever he did, he didn't want to think about that right now. The clay artist straightened up and looked for Sasori. He spotted a familiar mop of red hair that, to Deidara's amusement, stood out just as fiercely as ever about ten yards away. Knowing that he had been sitting there mulling over his thoughts for a long period of time, he decided to wake his partner.

Standing up and stretching his sore limbs, he approached the sleeping redhead none too discreetly and flopped down next to him. Now that he had made some sense out of his thoughts, his previous anger towards Sasori had vanished, and was left with the same, familiar pity that always seemed to settle in his stomach when he saw the puppet master. Sasori was curled up on his side facing away from the blonde, his arm-pillow pressing his cheek into a pout (just like at the motel) that looked unbearably funny, and if he dared to say again, cute. All the years of effort the redhead painstakingly put in building his cold, impassive demeanor crumbled upon this small scene. Well, at least to Deidara, anyway. In a way, he felt special, knowing that he was probably the only other in this entire world who would witness this side of Sasori, and yet felt afraid for himself at the same time, as he might be getting a good taste of Sasori's own venomous concoctions later.

Reaching out a hand he shook his partner until he saw the eyes crack open blearily, taking in its surroundings. It took a while for him to notice the blonde, and when he did, his face darkened considerably, and turned away again.

"Come on, Danna," the clay artist insisted, shaking him again. "Your turn to keep watch, un."

"Go away." Was the reserved response he received from the redhead. He was obviously still upset from before. Well, he would have to get over it now that the blonde was here.

"I don't think so, un. I need to rest, too." When Sasori didn't move, Deidara sighed and shoved his partner's shoulder as hard as he could. Sasori's balance slipped, and he smacked his face into the ground from the impact with a cry of pain.

"_What was that for!?"_ snarled the redhead angrily as he picked himself up to glare at Deidara. The latter shrugged and made to lie down, but was stopped by a hand. Sasori was regarding him with a discombobulated expression. "What are you scheming?" he demanded quietly, his eyes never leaving the other's.

"_Nothing,_ Danna. Geez, calm your horses, un." Deidara yawned and made himself comfortable, looking up at Sasori contently, who still seemed somewhat unsettled. "For God's sake, Danna, I mean—"

"If I recall correctly, you were commenting on your displeasure of the way I acted about this whole situation; in other words, you didn't like me," Sasori said matter-of-factly. "What made you change your mind?"

The clay artist looked at him for a while, until he sighed and muttered, "Look, I'm sorry about before, alright? It's like you said, I was only thinking about myself, un. I realize that now, so I'm trying to make things less awkward for us but you're making it very hard for me, un."

"Why try?" Sasori asked in a challenging manner.

"Why wouldn't I, un?" Deidara shot back. "But every time I do, I learn that you're not going to change much. Yet I just don't seem to learn, do I, un?"

There was a small pause, where neither of them looked at each other until Sasori finally made to speak.

"I know," he declared softly. He said no more on that matter. Deidara watched his partner with a hint of sorrow. It felt as if the redhead was never going to open up to anyone after all. Although he understood why, he couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Sensing the puppet master was still disheartened from earlier events, Deidara leisurely jabbed at his waist to grasp his attention. What he didn't expect, however, was the sudden flinch he received from the action. They stared at each other for a full second before Sasori realized what happened and frowned. "Don't," he warned the blonde. However, that only fueled Deidara's curiosity and he abruptly poked at the same place again. When he got the same reaction, he came to full understanding and the clay artist could feel a grin creeping onto his face. What if…? If this worked, then he just might be happy that all of this happened. Sasori only watched Deidara with an apprehensive look, not sure what was going on.

"Hey Danna," said the blonde suddenly. "Are you ticklish, un?"

"...What?" A bemused look crossed his face at the sudden change of mood and subject.

"I asked if you're ticklish or not, un."

"Wh— of course not!" scoffed the redhead hotly, as if the question greatly offended him. However, it did not wipe of the grin that was now fixed onto Deidara's face. "As if I would!"

"I guess we'll find out if that's true or not, un." Deidara shot up and reached out with dangerous fingers. Sasori paled visibly.

"Wait— you brat, I swear if you touch me—" Too late. The clay artist had lunged forward and tackled the redhead to the ground and began to tickle him relentlessly. All of a sudden, the small pine forest erupted with unexpected bursts of laughter with no regards to discretion that, to both their surprise, emerged from Sasori's throat. The pair rolled and tossed each other all over the ground, mercilessly jabbing at each other's waists, armpits, necks, and anywhere else that they would discover to be a target for their tickling. The sound of Sasori's melodic laugh echoing throughout the woods was truly marvelous, and Deidara swore to engrave them in his mind forever, for the puppet master would probably never allow himself to laugh like this ever again. The blonde felt his spirits lift and together they continued to attack each other, until neither of them had the energy to lift another arm. A few minutes later, they lay side by side on the ground, still panting and chuckling.

"Don't _ever _do that again," Sasori said breathlessly, wiping his streaming eyes. Deidara poked him one last time. "Stop!" he cried, laughing once more. By the time he was able to pull himself together, Deidara saw that his cheeks were tinted a darker pink from embarrassment.

"You never fail to surprise me, Danna, did you know that, un?" Deidara asked casually, facing the sky again.

"I'm not forgiving you for this one, you brat," Sasori snapped at him, sounding thoroughly irritated that Deidara succeeded in making him laugh. "You caught me off guard."

"Which was the whole point of it, un" said the clay artist, rolling his eyes. "I like this part of you more, Danna."

"I don't find pleasure in indulging myself with useless fidgeting to waste time on," Sasori retorted.

"But you're more alive, un. You're human; you can feel things now."

"Which is exactly why I need my puppet body back," Sasori said, the atmosphere turning solemn once again as they approached a sensitive topic.

"...I know, un. But until you do, can't you just try and enjoy it for the time being?"

Sasori turned to look at the blonde, who was still gazing up at the stars with a peaceful expression.

"I don't know how to answer that, brat."

Deidara gave the redhead a small smile. "I know, un."

* * *

**Alright, alright, paintball/egg-throwing time! Wait, wait— *ducks behind a poorly made shield* okay, go! But WAIT! If you liked the chapter, then maybe... you don't have to throw things at me...? ;^; (Oh, and the tickle scene was suggested to me by a wonderful reviewer 'ilovedeidara'. I am forever grateful to you for giving me the idea for this wonderful scene. It was the best suggestion ever! Thank you very much! And if anyone else feels like I should add in a small scene (nothing too big that would change the storyline, of course), feel free to leave it in your reviews and I will take it into consideration. :) )**

**Like? Love? Hate (me)? Please tell me what you think; your reviews will be greatly appreciated! :)**


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